


Born Of Despair

by ButterFlyEffect



Category: Dangan Ronpa
Genre: Adventure, Despair, Genderbending, High School, Hope, Horror, Humour, Multi, Murder, Romance, Thriller, trial
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-27
Updated: 2017-05-22
Packaged: 2018-09-27 07:55:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 22,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9984062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ButterFlyEffect/pseuds/ButterFlyEffect
Summary: Being accepted into Hope's Peak Academy should have been the end to all of your worries regarding your future, but instead you find nothing but despair when you are unwillingly forced to participate in a mutual killing game where it's killed or be killed and the only option is to turn on your classmates.(Genderbender Danganronpa/Reader)





	1. Welcome To Despair

"Ugh... My head..." you groaned drowsily. It was throbbing painfully and you could feel your forehead pressing against your forearms as you lay with your face buried in your arms on the hard top of a wooden desk.

The room was dim when you eventually lifted your head from the table with a wince, rubbing the back of your stiff neck. Immediately the events of the past minutes seemed to rush back to you and you sat up straight.

Hopes Peak Academy... The acceptance letter... the entrance ceremony... the anxious feeling in your chest...

You snapped your head to the clock at the front of the classroom you had awoken in, still feeling heavy from sleep. The desks around you were empty as you stood up with a jolt.

It was almost eight o'clock. You could have sworn it had only been just after seven or so when you had arrived...

With a further glance around the room, the thing that stood out to you most was the windows. Or more specifically, the place where the windows were supposed to be.

"What...?" you murmured to yourself, rubbing your eyes in confusion. Were you still half asleep?

When you looked back the scene hadn't changed however. You squinted in confusion at the metal plates which had been screwed tightly over the windows. Just to double-check, you walked over to the metal plates and pressed a palm against one of them. It was cold and hard to the touch.

"Odd..." you muttered with a frown. With a further glance around the classroom the next thing you noted was the familiar view of a camera pointing in your direction, focusing on you with some slight adjustments to the lenses as you watched.

A surveillance camera? Well... maybe it was some kind of security system? It didn't mean anything... Right?

Wandering back over to the desk you had awoken on, you picked up the sheet of paper that had been placed on the desk. In your drowsy confusion you hadn't noticed it until now.

You unfolded it, only to find a crudely written message scribbled across the inside.

_"Hey there new kid!_

_The next semester is about to start. Starting today, this school will be your entire world!"_

The leaflet looked like a child had written it... and it was around then that you began to suspect that this was some kind of prank.

Maybe this was some kind of reality TV show? Place a class of unsuspecting new students in some kind of absurd position and wait for their reaction... Given everything you had heard about Hopes Peak Academy, you wouldn't be surprised.

But something still felt off...

There was also the issue of how you had arrived here. The last piece of information you remembered was walking in through the front gates of the school, where you had been overtaken by an unpleasant feeling of dizziness... So then...maybe you had fainted and someone had carried you here to recover? But then why not take you to the nurses office?

"I guess I should probably head to the main hall...for the entrance ceremony," you thought out loud, placing a finger to your lip. It was already past the meeting time, so maybe the other students would be there already?

You tried to swallow the anxiety that came with the thought of having to walk into a room already full of other students, as you placed your hand on the door handle and carefully pushed open the door of the classroom.

A purple light immediately struck you, making your eyes hurt for a moment as you glanced around. It seemed you were in a dimly lit hall. The floor had a checkered pattern, reminding you a bit of a chess board... The air itself was stale and void of any scents or sounds, the only noise being the clicking of your shoes against the tiles as you took a few further steps into the hall.

You felt completely clueless and slightly lost. What was going on? Was this really Hopes Peak Academy? Which way to the main hall? You began to feel panic bubbling up in your chest and you placed a hand to your heart, trying to calm it. You had to stay rational at a time like this.

Still you jumped violently when a voice suddenly spoke up beside you and you whipped around suddenly, only to find a girl around your age standing a few paces away, sheepishly rubbing her cheek with an embarrassed smile. A large strand of hair sprouted from the top of her head and she wore a jacket over a green hoodie. Her skirt reached halfway down to her knees. Chocolatey brown hair fell down to just below her shoulders. She was the kind of girl who seemed naturally pretty and was completely unaware of it. But she was plain... a kind of forgettable beauty.

"I'm sorry I startled you..." she apologised awkwardly, smiling at you. "Are you heading to the opening ceremony too?"

"O-oh... I am," you answered. You tried to swallow your suspicion. But she was the only other person you had seen this entire time... was she the person who had carried you here?

"Who are you?" You asked, your fingers clenching into a nervous fist in front of your chest.

"Ah... Sorry about that! Um... I'm Makoto Naegi. I was looking for the main hall and a bunch of stuff happened. Then I just woke up in that classroom," she answered, still sounding slightly shy as she nodded to a classroom down the hall.

"The same thing happened to me... I'm (f/n) (l/n)," you responded, relaxing slightly. She seemed friendly enough. But you weren't ready to trust her just yet.

Makoto's eyes widened. "The actress?" she squeaked.

"Oh...yeah. I guess that's me," you answered. It was your turn to feel awkward.

Indeed you had been chosen to attend Hope's Peak Academy as the **Super High School Level Actress**. But part of the reason you were so well known was for your exclusive nature. The majority of the time you were so painfully shy that you avoided any kind of media coverage, including interviews or turning up for social events. The only time you were able to speak naturally to others was when you were hiding behind the personality of the role you played for a movie or a TV show.

Though some people supposed that this was your selling point. Your personality gave off the vibe of a cute little sister and made you more relatable to many people. On TV you were a stunning actress, able to take on almost any role perfectly. It was like you became the character, people told you.

'That's because I have no personality of my own,' you wanted to tell them. But you would only smile and thank them sweetly.

As Makoto stared at you in awe, you tried to think of a way to change the subject.

"So then... you must have a talent too... r-right?" you asked her hesitantly.

"O-oh yeah... I guess," Makoto answered with an awkward smile. "But it's nothing as impressive as yours... I was picked as this years Lucky Student."

**Makoto Naegi, Super High School Lucky Student**

"Lucky Student...? Your talent is luck?" You asked in surprise.

"Hahah..." she laughed nervously, rubbing her cheek. "I don't really get it either, but... I heard every year they enter everyone's names into a random draw and I just ended up being the winner."

"That's pretty impressive in itself..." you answered. You could sort of see why that title worked. You would need extraordinary luck to pull off something like that.

"Thanks... A-anyway, should we try and find the main hall?" Makoto asked, patting her jacket pockets searchingly. "I think I have a map on me somewhere."

"Oh yeah... Let's go," you agreed.

After some pauses to check the map and awkward exchanges, you made your ear down the hall.

The entire place was extremely odd. There was a large number of blocked off doors, including a large red one at the end of the passage.

It seemed the reason you hadn't been taken to the nurses off be had to be that it was one of the doors that was off limits.

It was across from the nurses office that you found the main hall waiting for you, the door ajar. By the time the two of you stepped in, it seemed everyone else had already arrived.

A group of fourteen other students turned to look at you, each extremely unique in the way they looked and carried themselves. You supposed that was only to be expected from a group of Ultimate students such as themselves. Some of them seemed open and friendly, while others glared in hostility or stuck closely to the walls in an attempt to stay away from the centre of attention.

You shrank slightly under their stares, and took a small step closer to Makoto. She turned and gave you a slight sympathetic smile.

"Woah, hey! More new kids?" a voice called out in surprise.

"Huh? Then you guys are all...?" Makoto began but trailed off.

"Yeah... We're all new here. Today's supposed to be our first day of class."

"So counting them, that makes sixteen. Seems like a good cut off point, but I wonder if this is everyone..."

As they chattered, you turned to look at Makoto. She looked a little dazed as well, glancing around the other ultimates one by one, taking in their faces. But after a few second she seemed to sense your eyes on her and glanced around.

"Don't worry," she smiled uncertainly. "Just act like you're on set! I'm sure we'll be fine. We're all in the same position after all."

You blinked in surprise at the girl, but she only grinned and turned back to the others. "Um...So how's it going? My name's Makoto Naegi and this is Miss (l/). Sorry we're late. A bunch of stuff happened and all of a sudden I was just...asleep."

The first person to respond was a tall tanned girl, her dreadlocked hair tied back in a ponytail. She wore loose, baggy clothing and seemed a little unkempt when she exclaimed: "Woah, you too?"

"Things just keep getting curiouser and curiouser..." a dark haired boy in an expensive looking gothic suit responded, his red eyes narrowing thoughtfully. He was all ruffles and lace and looked almost like an actor himself...

But contrary to an actor, he had a much murkier, more serious aura. Already you had him pegged as more than a pretty face.

"So strange! I declare beyond a shadow of doubt that this is a strange situation indeed!" a rotund girl with thin hair tied back into a small ponytail at the back of her head cried out, nibbling her fingernails nervously.

"Um..." Makoto interrupted. "What are you talking about? I honestly have no idea what's going in right now."

"Just a moment!" Someone shouted severely, making both you and Makoto flinch as a tall girl in a formal white uniform came stalking up to you, her hair pulled back severely out of her face. Her red eyes glared at you as she continued, crossing her arms: "There's something else we must address!"

She paused for a moment, closing her eyes before taking a deep breath and jabbing her finger at the two of you.

"Naegi! (L/n)! Your tardiness is unacceptable! Surely you were aware the meeting was to start at 8 a.m. sharp!" she boomed. "To be late on your first day is unspeakable! I must report you, and you must accept your due punishment!"

"What's your problem?" a blond boy grumbled. You recognised him immediately from the many magazine covers he had been on. This was Junko Enshima... The Super High School Level Fashionista. But somehow...he looked slightly different to the way he was depicted in the media. Though he was undeniably attractive.

"It's not like they wanted to be late. They didn't have any control over it," he continued, his blue-grey eyes harsh as he tugged on a strand of wavy blond hair.

"Everyone just calm down!" A second boy broke in cheerfully, putting a fist into his hand as though coming up with a particularly good idea. He was a tall, strapping boy in a red tracksuit. He had chocolate brown hair, tanned skin and pretty blue eyes that seemed to beam curiousity and openness. "Listen, why don't we all go around and introduce ourselves?"

"The hell!?" a tall girl snapped. Her two toned hair was combed up wildly into a kind of impressive pompadour on her head and she wore a a low rise white t-shirt under a long dark coat. "Now's no time for friggin' introductions!"

"B-but... wouldn't it be good to at least know who we all are before trying to figure out the bigger problems?" you interjected hesitantly. The tall girl glared at you for a moment before huffing and turning away.

"I concur," the boy in the ruffled suit agreed, tilting his head a little. "I mean, how are we even supposed to talk to each other if we do not know each other's names?"

You blinked gratefully at him for back you up, but he only smiled slightly and turned his attention away from you.

"That's a good point..." a short boy in a green jumper over a white shirt agreed, clutching his hands nervously to his chest.

"Okay! So let's get introductions out of the way, then we can move on to whatever else. Sound good?" a familiar male voice spoke up.

You almost exclaimed out loud as you made eye contact with the boy who had spoken. Navy eyes glimmered at you in recognition. It was Sayaka Maizono. He grinned slightly and you smiled back ever so slightly.

Sayaka was of course someone who had known before. Not in any depth, but the two of you had been on stage or at events together before now. He was the lead singer of a popular boy band, and would often make appearances on TV. Therefore it was only to be expected that the two of you knew each other. It was a surprisingly small world. Makoto seemed to recognise him too, fidgeting slightly under his gaze as it turned to her.

"Well..." Makoto spoke after a moment. "I guess this is as good a chance as we're gonna get... let's introduce ourselves, okay?"

You nodded. "Okay... thank you Naegi."

She looked surprised for a moment, before smiling and nodding. "Call me Makoto."

With a wave she headed off towards the other students, leaving you feeling a little lost for a moment. Noting a group of students by the door, you walked hesitantly over. Maizono was among them, already talking to Naegi and so you followed them over and talked to the first person who came up.

It was a tall rather lanky girl with wild red hair in a white jacket. You recognised her from the newspapers. You didn't really have to ask, but as you walked up she introduced herself loudly anyway, dramatically clenching her ringed hands into fists and raising them in front of her.

"Yo! The name's Leona Kuwata! What's up?" she yelled.

**Leona Kuwata, Super High School Level Baseball Star**

So it seemed she had an aggressive personality... and so to counter, you slipped into the roll of a more confident gung-ho character. It was a habit of yours... changing character depending on who you talked to.

"Yo! I am (f/n) (l/n), actress! It's so nice to finally meet you!" you answered, raising your voice to match hers.

You were a little surprised that the girl in front of you was the amazing athletic specimen she was hailed as, but questioning it seemed rude. Having said that...

"You look totally different from what I expected," you admitted. "Not that it's a bad thing."

You shot her a small smile.

"What were you expecting some kid with a shaved head or something?" she snorted, crossing her arms.

"Huh? Even girls have to shave their head?" you repeated. "But no, I was just expected more of a, you know, sporty-looking traditional baseball player type. I mean, when I found that article and picture if you online, that's how you looked then."

"What!?" Leona shrieked, looking uncomfortable. "Aw man, you found that picture of me playing baseball? Seriously!? I hate that picture! This is not cool. This is SO not cool... Seriously, I'm like, mega embarrassed right now."

"Huh? You don't like it?" you asked in confusion.

"I didn't have a choice, okay? I totally like, had to tie my hair back. Short hair is part of the national championship regulations." Suddenly she seemed to grow irritated and snapped: "But now I refuse to cut my hair! And I'm not gonna dye it back to normal, either!"

"Huh? Yeah, it's none of my business..." you answered, perplexed. The baseball player paused at this.

Then she spoke again. "Actually, can I be totally honest with you? I don't like baseball. Like, at all. I've never gone to a single practice."

'She had never been to practice and she was still her teams star player!? She must be some kind of prodigy...' you thought to yourself in shock.

"And as soon as I got accepted here, I quit baseball for good! I have my own dream for the future!"

"A dream?" you prodded.

"My only path in life is getting into music!" she answered readily. "You can feel that star quality aura I have, right? I'm gonna be a singer, so all I need is a songwriter and someone on guitar, and we're set! This new version of me that's chasing after my dream is, like...super cool to the max! You interested by any chance?"

She winked at your dazed self. You on the other hand couldn't believe what you were hearing... the kind of person who was born with so much raw talent that they didn't need to practice a single day of their lives... you gritted your teeth.

That... was the kind of person you hated most.

With some short words of refusal and a goodbye, you left off and headed on to the next person, who happened to be the rotund girl from earlier. As you walked up to her, she proudly adjusted her glasses and smirked.

"I... am Hifumi Yamada. But if you want to call me by my nickname, "The Alpha and the Omega!" I don't mind," she introduced herself. Looking at her, you couldn't for a moment imagine what kind of talent she might possess. Gaming? Cooking? ...speed eating?

You took on a more quiet, polite character this time around.

"I am (f/n) (l/n). May I ask your talent?"

"Hmph!" She responded, putting her hands on her wide hips. "If you are asking that, I must assume you know nothing about the world of 2D!"

"2...D?"

"Well, in that world, I am well known and supremely well regarded as the Super High School Level Fanfic Creator!" she boasted proudly.

**Hifumi Yamada, Super High School Level Fanfic Creator**

"That is... impressive," you responded with an uncertain smile. "So then... you draw manga?"

"What I create is more than just your average doujinshi! I once sold 10,000 copies of one of my fan comics at a school festival. The event has passed into legend... some of them didn't get it, of course, saying I'd "tainted" the event. How stupid can you be?" she snorted.

You were unfamiliar with the term 'doujinshi', but you decided it would be better not to ask.

Instead you responded: "That's too bad about them. Selling that many copies is definitely pretty remarkable."

"Aha! The words of such idiots mean nothing to me. I am like Van Gogh - utterly unappreciated in my time," she responded proudly. "I am a soldier, serving night and day to destroy all mindless preconceptions about fan fiction. I am sure that if you were to observe my work, Miss (l/n), you would comprehend its greatness immediately."

You paused, not sure if that had been a compliment.

"Thank you...?" you tested.

With a proud smirk and a nod, she walked off to talk to the others.

After that slightly exhausting encounter, you decided to talk to someone more mellow. You didn't know what's you were getting yourself into when you walked over to a boy with dark unruly hair and glasses, wearing a plain boys uniform.

"Um... hi, I'm (f/n) (l/n)," you spoke to him with a smile, attempting a more gentle, open personality with him. "Please feel free to call me (f/n)."

He flinched a little as though his thoughts had been interrupted and looked away to the side, obviously uncomfortable around so many people.

"N-not that you'll remember my n-name anyway, but..." he trailed off, pausing for a moment and fiddling anxiously with his fingers. "I'm T-Toko... Toko Fukawa."

**Toko Fukawa, Super High School Level Writing Prodigy**

Toko Fukawa... his was in fact a name you did remember. His literary career had started when he was ten, when he had published a book which immediately had everyone talking. However his greatest work was said to be his latest book "So Lingers The Ocean", a love story. It was so well received, especially among women, that a movie adaptation was already underway. A movie adaptation for which you had been cast as the leading role...

But that was besides the point. Despite Toko's age, he had won countless literary prizes and all of his books were instant best sellers.

It was no surprise that he was now known as the Super High School Level Writing Prodigy.

You had pictured him being more... of what you might call a... "womaniser"? Considering his masterpieces were all within the romance genre after all... Well you supposed it took all types.

"..."

"..."

"Wh-what?" He mumbled suddenly, touching his index fingers together sheepishly, a blush spreading across his face. "I-It's not polite to stare, you know." Then his temperament altered drastically and his clenched his hands into fists. "Stop staring at me like I'm some filthy creature!"

"F-Filthy creature? No, I just thought-" you tried to protest, but he cut you off.

"I-I know what you 'just' thought...!" he growled. "You just thought you've n-never seen such an ugly guy. You just th-thought it was sooo funny...!"

"N-no, that's not what I was thinking at all..." you protested weakly. It was true that he didn't match up to your image of him, but it's not like he was ugly...

"Don't bother trying to l-lie to me!" He pointed accusingly. "I know it's true. Otherwise, you... I know you can't stand looking at me!"

'He has pretty low self esteem...' you realised, not quite sure how to handle the situation.

Then he glanced down at the floor. "Wh-whatever, I don't really care. I'm used to it..."

'Talk about an inferiority complex...'

Doubting there was much else you could say to convince him, you moved onto the next person, who happened to be Maizono. Makoto seemed to have moved on too and was now standing with another group of students a few paces away.

"Hi Maizono," you greeted nervously. You weren't really sure how to act around him most of the time... It was like he would be able to see through you anyway.

"Hey (f/n)," he answered. "I have to admit it's a relief to see a familiar face around here... And don't worry about it, just be yourself!"

**Sayaka Maizono, Super High School Level Pop Sensation**

"Huh? Can you read my mind?" You answered, jumping a little.

"Haha, of course! I'm psychic!" he grinned, tilting his head a little. He had a nice smile, you noted.

"W-what?"

"Just kidding! I just have really good intuition," he answered lightly.

'He's pretty sharp...' you thought.

A loud voice interrupted your conversation. You recognised it as the girl who had scolded you earlier for being late.

"Jeez, you guys! How long do you plan to waste our valuable time with this ridiculous back and forth?" she snapped irritably.

"S-sorry. We just got carried away, I guess..." Sayaka answered sheepishly. It was almost amusing seeing him getting bossed around by the shorter girl.

"Self introductions are for introducing yourself, not bumbling through a bunch of idle chit chat!" she continued, dramatically clenching a fist out in front of her.

"You're right," Sayaka agreed, looking a little crestfallen. "Sorry, (f/n)... Let's talk again later!"

With a smile he waved at you and went to introduce himself to the others. With a sinking heart you turned to the loud girl, who had already yelled at you twice since you had walked in.

"So, um..."

"I'm Kiyotaka Ishimaru!" she answered before you even finished your sentence. "I believe in bold simplicity! Let's work together on our educational crusade!"

**Kiyotaka Ishimaru, Super High School Level Moral Compass**

Kiyotaka Ishimaru... You had heard of her before on an online thread dedicated to Hope's Peak Academy itself. She apparently went to a famous private school and won top honours every year... She was basically a flawless honour student... Respecting rules above all else.

"Anyway, you can call me Taka," she continued, breaking into your recollections. "You said your name was (f/n) (l/n), right? That's a good name, an honourable name! You should thank your parents for giving you such an excellent name!"

She seemed to have calmed down a little and was acting friendlier now. There was even a smile on her face.

"A-alright, Taka. Thank you..."

She didn't seem to hear you, instead bellowing: "And to keep that name from losing its value, you must devote yourself to every single day! Life is worth putting every ounce of effort into it! Right? Right!"

'This girl is... kind of annoying.'

With an awkward goodbye, you moved on to the next group of students. The cheerful tanned boy from before was the first to notice you and grinned cheerfully as you approached.

"Heya! I'm Aoi Asahina!" he greeted. "But my friends just call me Hina. 'Sup?"

"I'm (f/n) (l/n)," you responded, smiling at him in an attempt at friendliness.

**Aoi Asahina, Super High School Level Swimming Pro**

Beneath his white t-shirt you could tell that he was definitely well built. As to be expected of the ultimate swimmer, you supposed. He had been breaking records in every competition since elementary school and had even been chosen as an upcoming Olympic cadet.

He crossed his arms thoughtfully for a moment. "So uh..." he began. "What was your name again? Sorry, I totally forgot..."

"H-huh?" you stammered, a little downcast. Were you really that unremarkable? Well... you supposed that the two of you lived in different worlds. "M-my name is (f/n) (l/n). Please try to remember in future..."

"Oh yeah!" He grinned. "I knew it was something like that! Alright, I'll hammer it into my brain right now! (F/n)...(l/n)...(f/n)...(l/n)..."

As he repeated your name he moved his finger across his palm as though writing something in a hurry.

"Um... What are you doing?" you asked curiously.

"You don't know?" he asked in an almost scolding tone. "If you wanna remember someone's name, you gotta write it on your hand three times!"

"I've never heard that before..."

"By the way, how do you spell your last name?" He prodded, pausing.

"Exactly the way it sounds..." you answered, not sure what else to say.

"Umm..." he murmured, crossing his arms in thought. Then he grinned and sheepishly put a hand to the back of his head. "Well, I have no idea! Hahaha! I'll just figure it out later and write it down. Anyway, glad to meet ya!"

"Sure, you too..."

He seemed like a pretty easy going guy... and bursting with energy.

The next person you decided to talk to was the short boy you had seen earlier. He seemed to have a shy personality and so the two of you might be able to get along well... maybe? You decided to take a gentle approach.

"I'm... hallo! I'm (f/n) (l/n)," you spoke carefully. You were already getting a little bored of repeating yourself over and over but you supposed it was necessary.

"A-ah! Hallo, nice to meet you. I'm. Chihiro Fujisaki..." he murmured, a light blush spreading across his face as he glanced off to the side, playing nervously with his fingers.

**Chihiro Fujisaki, Super High School Level Programmer**

"S-sorry, I get kinda embarrassed whenever I introduce myself like this..." he stammered. "Anyway, I hope we can get along..."

He sent you a sweet smile.

"Same here," you answered, smiling back. "Nice to meet you."

"...Huh?" He exclaimed suddenly, surprising you. "Maybe it's just my imagination, but... have we met before?"

"I don't think so..." you answered, confused. "I mean... Maybe you saw me on TV?"

"Oh, yeah. Good point. Sorry..." he answered, looking almost ready to burst into tears.

"Y-you don't have to apologise," you protested, trying to calm him down.

"Oh, yeah... U-um... Hey, so listen... I-I'm really sorry," he almost whispered.

"Huh? W-what are you apologising for now?"

"Well, just cuz...you seem upset. You must be mad at me, right?"

"N-not at all! I was just worried _I'd_ upset _you_..."

"H-huh? You were worried...? I'm sorry for w-worrying you."

"S-seriously, don't apologise! It had nothing to do with me being upset or anything..."

"Oh, that's good!" Chihiro breathed a sigh of relief, placing a hand to his chest. "I was afraid maybe you didn't like me. Hehe... I'm glad!"

You were starting to understand why he was so popular amount his legions of fans.

After saying your goodbyes, you moved along to the next person. It was the unfriendly girl from earlier with her two toned hair and long dark jacket, much to your anxiety.

It seemed your worry was not unwarranted as the first thing she said when she saw you approach was: "Hey you! Name's Mondo Oowada. Nice to fuckin' meetcha."

**Mondo Oowada, Super High School Level Biker Gang Leader**

Mondo Oowada... one of the more infamous attendees of this year. Oowada was the current leader of the largest biker gang in Japan, despite being a girl, and had earned respect and even awe from every gang in the country for her fearsome nature and leadership skills. 

You cringed a little at her initial tone but forced yourself to respond.

"Umm... Nice to meet you too," you ventured.

"Hell yeah," she responded, scratching the back of her head, as though uncertain of how to respond to your surprisingly normal answer. Despite this, you knew you had to be careful around her. One wrong word and you might find yourself at the bottom of the ocean...

With a nod, you backed away and turned to the next person, who you recognised as Junko.

"Hiii! I'm Junko Enoshima," he grinned, raising his hand in a peace sign. "Charmed, I'm sure!"

**Junko Enoshima, Super High School Level Fashionista**

Of course, he didn't really need an introduction. Anyone would recognise Junko Enoshima. He had more charm and presence than any other high school boy in the country. You had seen him on countless magazine covers, however...

"...I feel like that doesn't quite match up to reality," you murmured.

"Huh...?" He responded, his eyes widening slightly. "Oh, are you talking about my cover photos and junk? Ahaha, well of course! Those are totally photoshopped."

He grinned at you, unbothered by your comment.

"Photoshopped...?" You repeated, surprised at his willingness to admit it.

"Yeah, you know - edited to hell and back. With like, computers and junk? Aww, come on, don't act so surprised! You're gonna make me all depressed. It's totally normal these days to photoshop the crap out of cover photos."

"Oh..." you answered, not sure how to respond. You felt like so many dreams were being crushed today.

After your conversation with Junko, you glanced around the room again, your eyes landing a tall boy with pale, choppy lilac hair which fell around his ears and sharp purple eyes. A short braid hung down one side of his head, tied by a black ribbon. He gave off a serious and perceptive aura and wasn't especially approachable. And yet somehow you felt yourself drawn to him...

He was standing by the large gate at the back of the room, his arms crossed, his eyes curiously flickering around the room, taking everything in.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Um... Can I ask you what your name is?" You asked awkwardly, not sure what else to say. He clearly wasn't interested in starting the conversation himself.

"..." For a moment he still remained silent. Then he answered in a calm voice: "My name is...Kyoko Kirigiri."

**Kyoko Kirigiri, Super High School Level ???**

"..."

'He doesn't talk much, does he?'

You didn't remember seeing his name anywhere in the Hope's Peak Academy thread, now that you thought about it. You couldn't remember his name ever being mentioned on the news either, or anything like that. It was like he had no presence or identity to be known of... but despite this, there was something vaguely familiar about him.

"So...what are you doing at this school?" you asked nervously.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked, reaching up and tugging thoughtfully on a strand of pale hair for a moment.

"No, I just meant... Getting invited here means you're some kind of "Ultimate" something, right?" you continued. "So I was just wondering about you..."

"..." He crossed his arms and looked off to the side again. "Why should I tell you?"

"H-huh?" you stammered, surprised. Why wouldn't he want to tell you his talent? Was it something he was ashamed of, like Leona? But he didn't seem like the kind of person who cared much what others thought of him...

"Well...I guess you don't have to tell me," you mumbled, looking at your feet.

"No, I don't have to tell you. So I'm not going to," he agreed, closing his eyes for a few seconds.

"..."

His face seemed like an iron mask... if he didn't want to tell you, you supposed there was no point in asking.

And so with that, you bowed your head slightly and made yourself over to the final group of students.

The first person to catch your attention was a massive hulking boy with wild white hair tied behind his head in a ponytail. He was wearing a traditional dark boys uniform, though the sleeves had seemingly been torn off, revealing heavily muscled arms, riddled with various scars. A large scar also went right across his face, giving him an extremely intimidating vibe.

He seemed to notice your timid glances and introduced himself first. "I am Sakura Oogami," he spoke in a gravelly voice.

**Sakura Oogami, Super High School Level Martial Artist**

'Sakura...?' It was an extremely girly name for someone so intimidating, though you weren't about to say anything about it. He looked like someone you certainly wouldn't want to mess with.

You remembered what you had heard about the martial artist competing in a tournament all the way in America and winning first place despite his young age. Sakura was also known to have fought in over 400 matches and never having lost a single one. He was truly a fearsome opponent.

"Hey, you," he broke into your thoughts.

"Huh? Y-yes!?" You snapped to attention.

He looked you over once. Normally this might have made your skin crawl, but with Sakura it merely seemed like genuine curiosity. Then he spoke: "Muscular quality and quantity is right about that if an extremely ordinary high school student... Hmph. What a shame. You're not at all fit to act as my training partner."

That didn't seem like such a shame for you, of you were honest...

"U-um... Maybe try Asahina?" you suggested.

He nodded and you moved on quickly, not wanting this conversation to drag out for much longer and muttering a silent apology to Asahina.

The next person you talked to was a pretty yet aloof bespectacled girl who was very much less than friendly as it turned out.

"Name's Byakuya Togami," she spoke, pushing her long blonde hair back over her shoulder and staring away to the side as though you weren't even worth looking at.

**Byakuya Togami, Ultimate Affluent Progeny**

"Hi, uh...nice to meet you," you answered uncertainly.

Byakuya was a little special, even making ultimates... She was the eldest child of the the esteemed Togami Corporation, a genius at almost everything she did, both beautiful and intelligent and the heir to the company. Already she was said to own large fortunes and power herself, already having started managing various business operations and was most certainly yet another person you didn't want on your bad side.

"We're done with introductions, right?" she snapped then. "How much longer are you going to stand there? Go away. I'm sick of looking at you."

'Jeez...' you thought, quickly shrinking away from her. 'She has the kind of aura that says I'll never be on the same level. Like a princess or something...'

It was a relief to get away from her as you instead moved onto the next person.

You had just about had enough of all this socialising... Their colourful personalities were exhausting and you were already longing for a nap and some time alone.

But there was still two more people you had to introduce yourself to.

You were met with the boy in the gothic clothing from earlier. He smiled at you as he came up, but it was the kind of smile that hid all kinds of darker intentions and deceptions...

"I do not think we have been introduced," he addressed you silkily. "I am Celeste Ludenberg."

**Celeste Ludenberg, Super High School Level Gambler**

"Luden...huh? Is that...German?"

He smiled. "Ludenberg. It is my name. But if you don't mind, I would prefer for you to call me Celeste."

"Ah, of course," you agreed quickly. He seemed completely sweet and friendly on the outside, but there was something about him that put you on edge. He was polite and forceful at the same time, you noted. "Then you can just call me (f/n)."

The Ultimate Gambler... a dangerous opponent, wrapped in veils of lies and deceit, said to have never lost a bet. There were even rumours of him entering and winning an underground gambling tournament, earning him the title "King of Liars". He supposedly completely cleaned out the other players, taking their life savings and laughing as he did it.

Standing in front of you, he shot you another deceptive smile and said: "I look forward to getting to know you better. Heh heh heh..."

With a slight shiver you nodded and moved on to the final student. She looked several years older than you and you recognised her as the girl with dreadlocks who had spoken earlier.

"I'm Yasuhiro Hagakure - Hiro for short!" She smiled at you in an easy going manner. "Take it easy, yeah? I know I will!"

**Yasuhiro Hagakure, Super High School Level Clairvoyant**

From what you had heard she was known as the "Supernova" in the psychic community and was the current trend setting clairvoyant.

While you didn't really understand much about fortune telling yourself, it was certainly an interesting talent. You wondered if there was any truth to it...

"Ahh... Okay, I give up," she spoke after a moment.

"Huh? What happened?" you asked in confusion.

"I saw it. I looking right at it... Seriously, I totally saw it!" she continued, without properly answering your question.

"...Saw what?"

"A guardian angel with a crazy perm chasing after Bigfoot running off with a skyfish in its mouth," she answered confidently, as though it were obvious. "And that guardian angel...is YOUR guardian angel! Nah, I'm just kiddin'," she then finished loudly, seeing your horrified expression. "But hey, we should grab some brewskis sometime and get real deep into Lemuria and it's civilisation."

"What? We're not allowed to drink!" you protested, shocked. You briefly wondered what Ishimaru would have to say about that. "We're in high school!"

"Huh? Oh, I'm actually 21. I've been held back a few times, see, and...well, it's a long story," she explained, unbothered.

'A few times?' you wondered. 'That does sound like a long story...'

And with that you finished up your introductions.

You were completely exhausted by this point. All of the Ultimates had extremely vibrant and colourful personalities and with some of them you felt as though you were treading on eggshells. All you wanted was a rest... but your day was far from over.

It was Togami who interrupted the chatter after a moment.

"Okay, time to get down to business," she spoke, crossing her arms. "This is no time to stand around making friends like a bunch of dull-eyed baboons."

"Oh, that's true," Makoto agreed to your surprise. She continued: "I think someone said something about a bigger problem or something? What was that about?"

"Well, you see..." Maizono began, looking worried. "Makoto, you said a bunch of stuff happened and then you were "just asleep", right?"

Surprised, she short girl nodded.

"Well, the same is true for all of us," the Idol finished and you froze.

"What? Seriously!?" Makoto exclaimed.

"B-but...how...can something like that...?" you stammered. All of you? Really? Something like that couldn't be a coincidence. It was understandable that one or two at most might have fainted from nerves, but a whole class was unheard of.

"Just after each of us got to the main hall, we lost consciousness," Leona agreed, scratching her red hair. "And when we came to, we were somewhere here in the school! That's what happened to you, right?"

"B-but that's just...weird!" Makoto protested, her olive eyes wide in disbelief. "That every one of us would get knocked out like that..."

"Exactly!" Mondo shouted in agitation. "That's why we're all freakin' out!"

You flinched at the force of her anger.

"And that's not the only thing. You saw where all the windows in the classes and hallways were, right?" Ishimaru added, turned her gaze towards you and then Makoto. "But instead of normal glass windows, it was a bunch of big metal plates! What's that about!?"

"Plus, all my stuff's missing!" Junko broke in as panicked muttering began to break out. "Even my cell phone..."

Immediately there was a ripple of action through the students as each of them patted their pockets, searching for personal belongings...or anything familiar really, only to come up empty.

"Yeah, you're right. I haven't seen my PDA anywhere, either..." Chihiro agreed, nervously holding his hands up to his chest.

"And then there's the main hall here," Kiyotaka added into the list. "The front exit is completely blocked by some giant metal hatch."

"I noticed that too..." you answered, starting to feel panic bubbling up in you as well. "It wasn't there when I first got here. How is that even possible?"

"What the heck!? What's it doing there!?" Ishimaru yelled, raising her fist.

"Maybe we got caught up in some kinda, like, you know...crime or something?" Junko questioned and you froze.

"L-like an...abduction?" You stammered, feeling like you were at your wits end.

"You think maybe someone grabbed us and hauled us off and we're not actually at school?" Leona broke in, doing nothing to calm your already strained nerves.

Luckily Yasuhiro spoke up. "Come on, don't think like that. Cheer up! I bet this is all just part of the school's orientation procedure. Yeah, I'm sure that's it! So I'm just gonna take it easy for a little bit."

"I wish I could be that optimistic..." you mumbled, feeling your chest hurt as your heart hammered against the inside of your ribs. Your eyelids were beginning to feel heavy and all you wanted to do was sleep.

Chihiro seemed to believe what Yasuhiro was saying however. "Oh..." he said in relief. "So you think they wanted to do something to surprise us?"

"Huh. Well if that's all it is, it's nap time for me," Leona muttered irritably. "I was up way too late last night, so I could use a little shuteye."

Much though you felt the same, you knew you couldn't sleep now. Something wasn't right and until you knew what was going on, you couldn't slack off.

The tension in the room seemed to be evaporating however and the other students were calming down.

But then...just as everything began to calm down...

*Ding ding, bing bong*

A sound like a bell rang through the school and the monitor in the room fizzled to life. Static flickered across the screen as a shape blurred into focus and a high pitched voice broke through the room. It felt as though it was cutting right into you.

"Ahem! Ahem! Testing, testing! Mike check, one two! This is a test of the school broadcast system!"

Your fellow students exchanged perplexed glances as the voice continued: "Am I on? Can everyone hear me? Okay, well then...!"

You couldn't help but feel like the voice was completely out of place. It sounded so playful, completely unconcerned... For some reason it was enough to fill you with a deep, unnerving dread. A quick exchanged glance with Makoto let you know that she felt the same.

It sounded like someone laughing at the scene of a serious accident...or a chuckle at a funeral.

So completely...unnatural.

"Ahh, to all incoming students!" the voice on the monitor continued. "I would like to begin the entrance ceremony at...right now! Please make your way to the gymnasium at your earliest convenience... That's all. I'll be waiting!"

The monitor fizzled out, allowing the room to plummet into silence once more.

Junko was the first to speak. "What. The. Hell was that just now?" he asked, a droplet of sweat rolling down his temple.

"Well then, if you'll excuse me..." Togami spoke next, turning her back and readying herself to leave the hall.

"H-hey! What, you're gonna take off just like that!?" Junko shouted after her.

"Ohh yeah, now I get it! This whole thing was just to get us all pumped for the entrance ceremony!" the clairvoyant interrupted before a squabble broke out. "Man, thank god it was all a joke! I'd be totally freaked if this was real! Alright, guess I'll head out, too. Wonder what they got planned for us next..."

One by one the students began to flood out of the room towards the gym, leaving behind only a few stragglers who looked equally uneasy. Makoto seemed to still be standing nearby, having not left either. There was a look of worry on her face. You yourself couldn't get that uneasy feeling out of your head either.

"This...this doesn't seem right," Sayaka commented nervously, holding a thoughtful hand up to his chin.

"Yeah, that announcement was totally weird..." Junko agreed.

"Maybe," a clear voice broke in matter-of-factly. "But just staying out doesn't mean we'll be safe."

It seemed Kirigiri had stayed behind as well, pondering for a moment. You knew he was right. It could quite possibly be riskier not to do what this stranger said.

"Besides," he added, standing with his arms crossed, his purple eyes turned on you. "Aren't you guys just a little bit curious to find out what's going on around here?"

"I agree," Sakura agreed. "If we do not move forward, we learn nothing. The only choice is to push forward."

"I guess you're right..." Makoto agreed. She still looked kind of nervous however.

"I think... I think we'll be fine," you murmured quietly. If they wanted to... you know, harm us, the would have done it while we were asleep."

Kirigiri glanced at you and nodded in agreement.

"They said to go to the gym, right?" Makoto asked.

With a few exchanged glances and nervous mutterings, the other students seemed to see the sense in what you were saying and began to exit the room, heading towards the gym. You found yourself walking alongside Makoto as you went, though neither of you spoke. There was a hush over the students as you pushed open the door the the gym.

Towards hope.

And towards despair.


	2. Entrance Ceremony of Despair

Kyoko stepped in first. He seemed to be the only one managing to stay calm in this situation and you couldn't help but wonder why. Did he know something? Or was he just used to this kind of thing? And if the latter was the case, what kind of life had he been living up until now?

 

Or maybe he wasn't calm at all... maybe he just seemed that way. With a deep breath you headed into gym after him.

 

Dread settled into the pit of your stomach, making you wonder for a moment if you were going to be sick. What could possibly be causing this feeling if anxiety?

 

Makoto walked in after you. Her face had also been twisted with worry, but as she stepped into the gymnasium and stopped to look around she commented: "Oh. It really does look like an entrance ceremony..."

 

"See? Told ya! It's totally normal entrance ceremony stuff," Yasuhiro grinned.

 

"I wouldn't really call all this normal..." you murmured to yourself. But Hiro was right in the sense that other than the noticeable lack of other students, the gym was set up for what looked like a completely ordinary entrance exam.

 

What wasn't normal was the childish voice that cut through the gym a moment later: "Hey there, howdy, hello! Is everyone here? Good! Then let's get things rolling!"

 

There was a tense silence as the entire class turned to face the podium. You ended up standing between Leona and Kyoko as all eyes turned to the front and just then, all of a sudden, you were met with an unbelievable sight.

 

Out of the podium popped what looked like a plush animal, waving its two toned arms as it sat on the podium. It seemed to take on the shape of a bear, one side white with an innocent button eye and the other a pitch black with a jagged, mechanical red eye which glimmered threateningly. On its darker side it's mouth stretched out into a wide unnatural smile as it grinned at you.

 

You froze, unable to turn your eyes away from the moving... creature.

 

"Huh?" Chihiro stammered. "A...teddy bear?"

 

"I'm not a teddy bear!" It responded, much to everyone's surprise. Chihiro had spoken to it. And whatever this thing was...it was responding. Just what were you looking at?

 

"I...am...Monokuma!" it continued. "And I am this school's headmaster!"

 

It was by far the strangest thing you had ever laid eyes on and as the others focused their attention on the creature called Monokuma, you pinched yourself quietly.

 

Pain shot from the skin and you didn't wake up.

 

"W-what the..." you stammered in disbelief. Whatever you were looking at...was completely, utterly incomprehensible.

 

"...nice to meet you all!" Monokuma greeted cheerfully, as though oblivious to the confusion and fear surrounding him. His bright and carefree attitude was completely out of place and all of a sudden the anxiety which had been bubbling up inside you transformed into genuine fear at the sight before you.

 

"Wh-? Waaaaaah! That teddy bear can talk!" Yamada shrieked, sweat dripping from her brow.

 

"Calm down," Kiyotaka responded, talking sense for once. "I'm sure there's just a speaker inside it."

 

"I told you already, I'm not a teddy bear!" Monokuma shot back angrily. It seemed this teddy bear had a short temper. "I am Monokuma! And I'm your headmaster!"

 

"Waaaaah! It moved!" Yamada hollered again, causing some looks of irritation.

 

"Seriously man, calm down! It's prolly just a remote control toy or somethin'," Mondo snapped at her in annoyance.

 

"How dare you compare me to a child's plaything! You've cut me deep. Deeper than the Mariana Trench..." Monokuma sighed, glancing down at his paws. You very much doubted that you was genuinely upset. "My remote control system is so complex, even the folks at NASA can't recreate or even comprehend it! Ah, but don't make me say stuff that might destroy NASA's dreams. I couldn't BEAR that!"

 

"'Bear' that? Really? You are...unfortunate," Celeste broke in as the back and forth between Monokuma and the students continued, sprinkled here and there with ridiculous bear puns.

 

"Now then, moving on!" Monokuma snapped. "We really must hurry and get started...l

 

"...giving up already?" Junko tested in irritation. "No other stupid bear puns?"

 

"Quiet down now, quiet down! Ah, okay, so...! Everyone stand to attention and bow! And...good morning!" Monokuma ordered. It seemed he had abandoned the gag.

 

"Good morning!!!" Kiyotaka shouted back at the top of her lungs, with a formal bow.

 

"Y-you don't have to s-say it back..." Toko interjected in disgust.

 

"Now then, let us commence with a most noteworthy and memorable entrance ceremony!" Monokuma exclaimed. "First, let's talk a bit about what your school life here will be like. Now, make no mistake - you few students, so full of potential, represent the hope of the world. And to protect such splendid hope...you will all live a communal life together within the confines of this school."

 

This already send ripples of confusion through the small assembled crowd as the bear added: "Everyone will live in harmony together, and adhere to the rules and regulations of the school."

 

"H-huh?" Makoto stammered beside you.

 

"And now then! Regarding the end date for this communal life... there isn't one!" he snarled, holding up a black paw threateningly. "In other words, you'll all be here until the day you die! Such is the school life you've been assigned."

 

"Wh-what did he just say?" Toko asked in horror. "Until the day we d-die...?"

 

Despite Monokuma's reassurances that the school had quite an abundant budget, disquiet broke out among the assembled students.

 

"That's the least of our worries right now!" Maizono protested.

 

"Yeah, what the hell?" Junko agreed. "You're saying I have to live here forever? You're screwing with us, right?"

 

More and more protests began to break out among the students, but you remained frozen in silence. Everything was an incomprehensible blur... You would have to stay here forever? What did he mean? There was no way they could get away with something like that... Thy couldn't simply condemn sixteen teenagers to being imprisoned in a school for the rest of their lives. What about the outside? The sunshine? Feeling the grass beneath your toes? Your career for that matter.

 

"I am not screwing with you!" Monokuma shouted over the protests. "I am no liar, of that you can be 100% sure. Ah, and just FYI... you're completely cut off from the outside world. So you don't have to worry about that dirty dirty land beyond these walls ever again!"

 

"C-cut off...?" You repeated, letting the words sink in. Despite your situation you felt strangely detached and numb. "So all those metal plates all over the school...they're to keep us trapped in here?"

 

"Ding ding ding! That's right! That's exactly what they're for," Monokuma confirmed your suspicions. "No matter how much you may yell and scream for help...help will not come. So with all of that in mind, feel free to live out your life here with reckless abandon!"

 

"C-come on..." the baseball star broke in. "I don't care who's behind all this, but it's just a really bad joke."

 

"Yeah! Cut this shit out! It isn't funny anymore," Mondo agreed. She looked panicked and was obviously trying to mask it with anger.

 

"You keep saying this is a lie, or a joke. A bunch of skeptics, all of you," Monokuma complained, his red eye glowing. "But I guess you can't help it l, huh? You all grew up in an age where you're taught to doubt your neighbour... Well, you'll have plenty of time to find out whether or not what I say is true... And when that time comes, you'll see with your own eyeballs that I speak the undeniable truth."

 

"Having to live here forever would be...quite the problem..." Celeste muttered, almost to himself more than Monokuma.

 

"Come on now, what's the matter with all of you?" Monokuma questioned. "You decided if your own free will to attend Hope's Peak Academy, didn't you? And now, before the entrance ceremony is even finished, you've already decided you want to leave?"

 

He acted as though he were genuinely confused. He made it sound as though you had wanted to be in this situation... If you had known the true nature of this place, you never would have agreed to come.

 

"Oh but you know..." the plush bear then added, putting his paws to his mouth, chuckling as though he were part of some joke only he was aware of. "I guess I did forget to mention a one thing. There  is one way for you to leave the school..."

 

"R-really?" Toko asked in disbelief, as though it were too good to be true.

 

You weren't feeling as optimistic... Something about Monokuma's tone seemed to tell you that you wouldn't like the answer.

 

It seemed you were about to be proven right.

 

"As headmaster," Monokuma explained. "I've crafted a  special clause for those of you who would like to leave! I call it... the  Graduation Clause ! Now, let me tell you about this fun little rule."

 

Whatever he was about to say, it sounded to you as though it would be anything but fun. But you kept quiet and listened. If you had been caught up in some crime, it was important to at least know the rules of your kidnapper. After all, you had no idea what might befall you if you didn't...

 

"As I mentioned, in order to maintain an environment of harmony here, we rely on a communal lifestyle," the self-proclaimed headmaster articulated. "And if someone were to disrupt that harmony, they and they alone would be allowed to leave the school. That, my students, is the Graduation Clause!"

 

"What do you mean by "disrupt the harmony"?" Togami growled through gritted teeth.

 

"Puhuhu... Well, you know..." Monokuma chuckled. "If one person were to  murder another."

 

"M-Murder!?" Makoto immediately repeated in shock. She couldn't believe what she was hearing and neither could you. Nobody could. It was totally unheard of...

 

"Stabbing, strangling, bludgeoning, crushing, hacking, drowning, igniting, how you do it doesn't matter," the bear confirmed. "You must kill someone if you want to leave. It's as simple as that. The rest is up to you. Give it your all to achieve the best outcome in the worst way possible!"

 

'Or else' seemed to be the unspoken undertone as he held up a threatening paw.

 

Chills shot down your spine and once again you felt as though you were about to be sick. Murder...? It was incomprehensible.

 

"I don't understand..." you protested weakly.

 

"Puhuhu! I bet that got your brain juices flowing! Beats the heck out of a human catching a salmon, huh? Like I said before, you guys are the hope of the world. But you know...taking that  hope and seeing it get murdered creates a darkened shadow of  despair ! And I just find that so....darn...exciting!"

 

The plush bear clutched his stomach as though laughing at a particularly funny joke.

 

"What the hell are you talking about!?" Leona yelled. "To kill each other is... it's...!"

 

As more protests rang out you only stood there dumbly. Part of you was still hoping that all this was just a dream. But really, you knew it wasn't. This was a cruel reality.

 

"Yeah! Stop blabbering all this nonsense! Let us go home already!" Hifumi shrieked.

 

Monokuma paused. "...Blabbering?"

 

His tone had changed. He sounded more serious, darker... and angrier. His red eye glowed dangerously and his unnaturally wide smile seemed to turn into a grimace as he leaned forwards on the podium.

 

"Blabbering, blabbering, what do you mean blabbering!?" He growled furiously. "Stop blabbering on about blabbering on! You guys just don't get it, do you? 'Let us go, let us go!' You keep saying the same thing over and over and over...! Listen. From this moment on, this school is your home, your life, your world. Got it? And you can kill as much as you wanna kill! So go ahead, go on a kill-kill-killing spree!"

 

He raised his paws angrily in an exasperated manner. Despite his facial features never changing it was easy to read the bears temperament.

 

Reactions to this announcement varied. The majority were still in shock. Yasuhiro was still in denial.

 

It wasn't until Mondo lost her temper and stormed forward, shoving Hiro aside. She placed herself firmly in front of Monokuma, her voice angry and strained.

 

"Listen up, asshole!" she shouted. "This shit's gone way too far! What the hell kinda joke IS this!?"

 

"Joke? What, you mean like your hair?" Monokuma asked, tilting his head innocently to one side.

 

"Why you...! FFFUUUUUU-!"

 

Mondo roared angrily, which was followed by a loud boom, created by the floorboards as she kicked off and launched herself into the air towards Monokuma. The bear waved his arms in a weak protest as Mondo grabbed him by the throat in her anger. The plush had absolutely no time to dodge.

 

"Gotcha, you little piece of shit!" the biker shouted furiously. "I dunno if you're a toy or a stuffed animal or whatever the hell! Either way, I'm gonna rip you to fuckin' shreds!"

 

Beside you Kyoko tensed almost imperceptibly as the bear flailed wildly.

 

"Waah!" Monokuma cried out and for a moment, for some reason, you felt stupidly sorry for him, despite knowing his true intentions. Maybe it was his on the whole fairly harmless appearance? "Violence against the headmaster is a violation of school regulations!"

 

Mondo refused to comply instead shouting various obscenities back at the so called headmaster. Monokuma on the other hand went strangely quiet and there was the sound of a quiet click. At first you barely noticed the difference over the volume of Mondo's anger, until you realised that another sound had come to take its place.

 

"What, no smartass comeback this time!?" Mondo taunted, baring her teeth.

 

The bleeping sound continued to emanate from the plush bear, but still he said nothing.

 

"Stop that goddamn beeping and SAY SOMETHING!"

 

At this Kyoko suddenly flinched and bounded into action, shouting across the room: "Watch out! Get rid of it!"

 

"Huh...?" Mondo responded dumbly.

 

You weren't sure exactly why Kirigiri seemed so distressed, but you could sense the uncharacteristic urgency in his voice and were inclined to do as he said.

 

"Hurry up and throw it!" Kyoko ordered, his voice deadly serious. His ferocity seemed to stun Mondo into silence and she obeyed without a word, flinging Monokuma into the air above her.

 

And just as soon as she did... A thunderous boom echoed around the hall, temporarily deafening you as you were blasted with a strong wave of warm air, tugging at your hair and clothes as the plush bear blew up into a ball of fire. You crossed your arms over your eyes as a brilliant bright flash illuminated the gym.

 

It wasn't a large explosion and it fizzled out quickly, but one thing was for sure; if Mondo had been holding Monokuma when he had blown up, she would have been blown to bits.

 

It left everyone in shock and as you dropped your arms back to your sides, you found yourself trembling, your knees wobbling uncontrollably.

 

"T-the hell..." Mondo stammered, unusually quiet. "Th-that sure as shit wasn't a joke. It blew the hell up..."

 

Your ears rang painfully as the scent of gunpowder and burning plastic hit your nose and you took a shaky step back as though having been physically hit by something. It took a moment for your eyes to readjust. 

 

Of course you had seen explosions and stuff in movies or TV shows before now... But those were just special effects. Pasted over a green background... this was real life. And you had just witnessed a plush animal explode before your eyes. You'd never seen anything like it... It was surreal.

 

And yet so much had already happened by this point that you were beginning to feel like you were seeing the whole thing from very far away. Voices reaching your ears sounded strangely muffled. You felt oddly detached from the situation before you.

 

Surprisingly, Chihiro was one of the first to recover. "But you know..." he began, nervously wringing his hands. "This means that teddy bear's been destroyed, right?"

 

"That...sounds too easy," you heard yourself say.

 

Sure enough, almost immediately a familiar voice screeched from nearby: "I told you, I'm not a teddy bear! I'm Monokuma!"

 

This was followed by a scrabbling sound as the loathsome creature crawled back onto the podium.

 

"Uwah! There's another one?" Leona cried out, a horrified expression passing over her face.

 

Mondo's fear had already turned back to anger. "You son of a bitch!" she shrieked, pointing an accusing finger at the bear. "You seriously tried to kill me just now!"

 

"Well, yes," he answered matter-of-factly, holding up a clawed white paw. He looked genuinely angry now despite his plush features never changing. "I was serious about trying to kill you. You did violate one of the school regulations, after all."

 

"You're seriously going to kill us..." you spoke shakily, fear pricking at the back of your eyes. "Just for breaking the rules."

 

"Hmph, of course! Rules are rules for a reason. I'll let you off with a warning this time, but you'd better be careful from now on," Monokuma responded.

 

"S-some warning..." someone muttered.

 

"H-hey... So does this mean there's like, a bunch of you around somewhere?" Junko asked suspiciously.

 

"Monokumas have been placed all throughout the school, yes," the bear answered. "Plus, don't forget the surveillance cameras installed everywhere. And if you're caught breaking any rules, well... You all saw what just happened, right? Puhuhu... And I won't be so forgiving with my punishment next time. So don't let it happen again!"

 

"Th-that's not even punishment. That's just...wrong..." Aoi stammered, a look of horror on his face.

 

Monokuma ignored him. "Now then, lastly... To commemorate your joyous entry into our school, I have a little something for you..."

 

You felt distant and lethargic almost, as Monokuma began to hand out what he called the official student handbook. You looked down at the object in your hands, not quite comprehending what you were supposed to do with it.

 

Monokuma explained that it was a digital handbook given to all the Hope's Peak Academy students, calling it the  e-Handbook . According to him it was vital to the communal school life as he called it and so it was important not to lose it, finishing up by stating that it displays your name when you start it up and so to always make sure you had the right one. Lastly he explained that it was nearly unbreakable and completely waterproof and that it contained the  school regulations he had been referring to.

 

"Make sure you read them thoroughly!" he reminded you, keeping up his twisted parody of an ordinary school teacher. "You'll hear me say this a lot, but any violation of school regulations will not be tolerated. Rules restrict, yes, but they also protect. Society, for example, would be utter chaos without laws. The same thing applies here! Which is why it's crucial we have strict punishments in place for violators. Okay, well...that brings our entrance ceremony to a close! Please enjoy your abundantly dreary school life! And...see ya!"

 

And with that...he simply disappeared, leaving the entire class in a state of shock. For a long moment everyone was silent as the other students exchanged glances. You kept your eyes fixed firmly on your shoes however, your fingers clenched into fists by your sides. You allowed your fingernails to dig into the soft skin if your palm, a small part of you perhaps still hoping you would wake up to find it was all just a bad dream.

 

Then Ishimaru broke the silence: "So, guys... How would you define what we just experienced?"

 

Immediately chatter broke out. It was as though the tension of surface of water had been broken and everyone started talking at once. You yourself felt something like laughter bubbling up inside you, perhaps at Ishimaru's anticlimactic question to the class, or perhaps just at the absurdity of it all.

 

You stayed with your feet planted on the wooden floor as the chatter around you heightened and you jumped violently when you felt someone lightly touch your shoulder. You whipped around, your eyes wide, only to come face to face with Sayaka. He looked worried, his blue eyes wide.

 

"Are you okay?" he asked, almost sounding embarrassed. "I'm sorry I scared you."

 

"Y-yeah... I think so... I'm just a bit...shaken, you know?" you answered nervously.

 

He nodded sympathetically and in a moment of weakness you blurted out: "Maizono...what's going to happen to us?"

 

He frowned at this and shook his head for a moment, trying to decide on how to respond. It was an unfair question however, and you knew it. How could he possibly know? How could any of you possibly know?

 

Just then Kyoko's serious voice broke through the crowd: "Everyone, we need to just calm down. First, let's just take a second to summarise everything we just heard."

 

You exchanged a worried glance with Maizono. You were surprised that after all you had just heard, Kyoko was still managing to stay calm. But what he was saying made a lot of sense... Not to mention the only good idea anyone had had in the last half hour or so.

 

"Based on what Monokuma said, we essentially have two choices," Kirigiri continued. "Choice number one is that we each stay here, living a 'communal life' together until the day we die."

 

Murmurs of disquiet spread through the crowd at this. Nobody seemed to like this option. But the other option was even worse...

 

"And the other choice is..." Kyoko trailed off for a moment, as though unwilling to continue.

 

"If we want to get out of here alive, we have to kill someone. Right?" Celeste finished his sentence for him.

 

He barely had time to finish before Chihiro burst out in horror: "But...killing someone... That's..."

 

"We were abducted out of nowhere and stuffed into this place meant to look like a school," Yamada began to relay the advance, biting her fingernails. "And now we're supposed to start killing each other? This is... This is...this is just...! What IS this!?"

 

"A lie, is what it is. All these ridiculous things we've heard... This all has to be fake!" Ishimaru broke in, though she sounded as though she was trying to convince herself as much as anyone.

 

For the first time Byakuya raised her voice: "Right now it doesn't really matter if it's real or fake. What matters is... Is there anyone here who's seriously considering all this...?"

 

The issue she raised was a valid one, you realised and wondered why you hadn't thought of it before. Whether or not all of this was real...if so much as one person believed it, it could put every single one of you in danger. Worst of all...there was no way of knowing. None of you properly knew each other. How could a group of complete strangers trust one another in a situation like this? And at the same time, without that trust you would also endanger the group.

 

Nobody had a response to Byakuya's question. The air was thick with tension and suspicion. It was almost palpable, as though you could slice through the heavy atmosphere with a knife. You glanced around at the others, taking in their suspicious and worried faces one by one.

 

Everyone was exchanging glances, staring at each other, trying to gauge each other's intentions. The hostility crackled in the air.

 

'You must kill someone if you want to leave.'

 

An almost paralysing fear took over every last nerve in your body and a chill ran down your spine. This was the true horror behind Monokuma's words. Not the rules themselves, but rather the suspicion and feeling if dread it created. These words had planted all kind of vicious thoughts deep into each of your classmates, even if just subconsciously. That kind of tension would eventually be able to break anyone. Nobody was without this breaking point. The issue was who came closest. Eventually their minds would turn to escape and they would stop at nothing to achieve their goal.

 

You would all be forced to wonder whether someone would betray you.

 

This was the beginning of your new school life.

 

A communal school life of despair.

 

...

 

...

 

"So? What are you going to do now?"

 

A sharp male voice pierced through the heaviness that seemed to crush down on you. It was Kyoko.

 

"Just stand around glaring at each other?"

 

He stood at the edge of the group, his arms crossed, a bored look on his face. His comment was directed at everyone in the room and, somehow, it was enough to snap you out of a kind of fear induced trance you had fallen into, as though dragging you back into reality.

 

For a moment you imagined that you had been drowning...unable to breathe. And he had grabbed your hand and pulled you back to the surface. You quickly shook these ridiculous ideas out of your head as Ishimaru broke into your thoughts.

 

"R-right... He's right!" she exclaimed, clenching a fist to her chest. A droplet of sweat rolled down her forehead as she spoke but she continued nonetheless: "Sometimes, even if you're nervous or afraid, you just have to step forward! To forget such a simple fact... I can't forgive myself. I'm so ashamed!"

 

She bit her lip and looked almost ready to burst into tears as she shouted: "Please, someone hit me! I can forgive myself! Somebody hit me! Punish me!"

 

"Jesus. If you have time to tell about it, you have time to DO something about it," Mondo snapped at her, growing irritated.

 

"Wait a minute..." you protested. "That's not necessary, you guys..."

 

"But...what is the mission here exactly?" Hifumi nervously asked Mondo.

 

"Idiot! To look for a way out, duh!" Leona sneered as though talking to a child.

 

More unhelpful suggestions began to fly around the room, ranging from directly attacking Monokuma or the person behind him to using blunt force to get out of the school. Neither of which seemed like a good option if you were going by the rules.

 

It wasn't until Chihiro finally suggested that you all take a look at the e-Handbook to familiarise yourselves with the school regulations that things began to calm down.

 

"True," Celeste agreed with an innocent simper. "If we stumble around with no clue what the rules are, something like that might happen again..."

 

"Shit..." Mondo gulped as the reality of the situation seemed to properly hit her. One wrong move and you were dead.

 

"Fine. Then let hurry up and check out the stupid rules already," Junko grumbled, raising an eyebrow.

 

"Okay, so I guess I just turn it on here...?" you mumbled, partly to yourself, partly to Maizono, who was still standing beside you, fiddling with his own handbook.

 

The first thing that appeared on the small digital screen was your name, just as Monokuma had said. Then as the main menu popped up, you selected the School Regulations icon and an itemised list showed up onscreen. These were the rules you would be forced to live by for the foreseeable future... You supposed you had better memorise them carefully.

 

  1. Students may reside only within the school. Leaving campus is an unacceptable use of time.
  2. "Nighttime" is from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Some areas are off-limits at night, so please exercise caution.
  3. Sleeping anywhere other than the dormitory will be seen as sleeping in class and punished accordingly.
  4. With minimal restrictions, you are free to explore Hope's Peak Academy at your discretion.
  5. Violence against Headmaster Monokuma is strictly prohibited, as is destruction of surveillance cameras.
  6. Anyone who kills a fellow student and becomes "blackened" will graduate, unless they are discovered.
  7. Additional school regulations may be added as necessary.



 

Slowly you raised your eyes up from the screen and met the distressed gazes of the other students. The same stormy expression was present on almost everyone's face.

 

"This is bullshit!" Mondo was the first to protest. You had her pegged as the loud one by this point. "What the hell kinda rules are these!? I'm not gonna let them control ME!"

 

"Well then," Celeste smirked. "Why don't you wander around the school without a care in the world and see what happens? Personally, I would love to see what happens when someone breaks one of the rules."

 

"But if he got punished like what we saw before, I don't think there'd be a respawn waiting for him..." Hifumi stammered nervously.

 

For once Mondo was silent, completely dumbstruck. Then: "Ever since I was a kid, I grew up with my big sis pounding this into my head... When you make a promise, you have to keep it, even if it kills you."

 

"So what?" Junko mouthed off.

 

You wanted to groan. Why did they keep provoking her? She was riled up enough as it was.

 

"I've made a ton of promises that I still have to keep, that's 'so what'!" the biker snapped back. "So I can't afford to die in here!"

 

"So...you're saying you're going to follow the regulations?" You asked, almost disbelievingly. That had been easier than expected.

 

"Huh? Oh, well...yeah, I guess you're right," Mondo answered with a shrug of her shoulders.

 

"Hey, um..." Sayaka piped up suddenly. "I have a question. For regulation number six...what do you think it means exactly?"

 

With a glance down at your handbook, you reread the sixth regulation.

 

_ Anyone who kills a fellow student and becomes "blackened" will graduate, unless they are discovered. _

 

"You're talking about the second half, right?" Makoto asked, scratching the back of her head. "Where it says 'unless they are discovered'? I was wondering that myself."

 

"It's saying that if you want to graduate, you have to kill someone without anyone finding out it was you," Byakuya sighed, crossing her arms. While her explanation was clear, it was also obvious that she was talking down to Makoto, as though talking to a child.

 

"B-but why...? Why do we h-have to do that?" Toko stammered, his eyes wide, like a deer in the headlights.

 

"I don't see any reason to worry about it," the heir retorted, tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder and crossing her arms. "Just worry about following the rules as they've been explained to us. Frankly, I don't want to hear anything from someone who waits for others to decide what to do for them."

 

Though her words were harsh, she had a point you supposed and you lightly scolded yourself for standing around soundlessly like a terrified rabbit.

 

"D-don't jab at me..." Toko answered with a grin.

 

_ 'Why does he seem so happy about it?' _

 

"More like a full-on stab..." someone muttered.

 

"Well for now, let's forget all that silly junk about murderers or whatever," Aoi decided, perking up a little. "Now that we know the rules, let's start exploring the school!"

 

"True," Ishimaru agreed. "We need to find out where exactly we are. Is there any way out? What about food and supplies? There are tons of questions to answer!"

 

"Damn straight! Okay, then let's all start looking around," the baseball player agreed. She seemed to be getting all fired up.

 

Ishimaru had in fact brought up a variety of relevant questions. What exactly were the arrangements with food and drink? They could hardly expect you to live out the rest of your natural lives here without keeping you fed. Unless...maybe Monokuma wasn't expecting those lives to last very long?

 

Just as the tense atmosphere seemed to evaporate however, Byakuya broke in, a look of disgust on her face.

 

"...I'll be going alone."

 

"What!? Why? That's a pretty stupid idea, don't you think?" Junko protested.

 

"He's right!" you added. "If you go alone, you'll be vulnerable!"

 

"Hmph. All this nonsense about sticking together is even more risky. Someone here might already have started thinking about murdering one of us," the heir retorted, causing you to fall quiet. "Are you saying we should stand around with them in our midst and make it that much easier for them?"

 

"Hold on a second!" You tried again. "But if we all stick together, then we can keep an eye on each other that way at least! Wandering off alone just makes you more suspicious than anyone else here."

 

"Hmph. Don't be so naive," Byakuya sneered. "We can't stick together all of the time. It isn't feasible."

 

There was no way of getting through to her it seemed.

 

"W-wait, hold on a second," Maizono interrupted, an anxious expression present on his face. "That would never-!"

 

"Don't bother saying it couldn't happen." Byakuya didn't let the idol finish. "You can't deny the possibility. That's why you all seized up with fear when that graduation rule was made clear to you. Am I wrong?"

 

Her confident expression seemed to say that she very much doubted that she was.

 

"But if we all fall into suspicion and turn on one another then we're just playing straight into the hands of the mastermind..." you argued.

 

"I'm simply acting in accordance with what I think is best for my personal safety," Byakuya countered.

 

"B-but..." Maizono tried to back you up, but a single glare from Byakuya was enough to silence him.

 

Mondo wasn't as much as a pushover. She stomped forwards to block Byakuya's way out of the gym, cracking her knuckles angrily. "Hold on," she snapped. "Like hell I'm gonna let you run off and do whatever you want!"

 

"Out of my way, plankton!" the heir snapped, gritting her teeth as though in disbelief at someone so insignificant trying to stop her.

 

"Wh-!? The fuck's that supposed to mean!?" Mondo shrieked furiously.

 

"One tiny bit of plankton, drifting across the sea," Byakuya continued to taunt. "So minuscule, so insignificant, they couldn't possibly have any kind of influence on the boundless ocean."

 

This seemed to send Mondo over a tipping point and she cracked her knuckles, her face growing red with anger.

 

"I'm gonna kick your ass!"

 

"W-wait, stop it! We shouldn't fight!" Makoto protested, pushing forwards and standing between the two, holding her arms out in front of her in an attempt to calm Mondo down.

 

"Makoto, wait!" You protested, trying to reach out to pull her back, but it was too late.

 

"The fuck you just say?" Mondo growled threateningly. "You some kinda goody-goody little bitch?"

 

"Wait, please!" you tried to break in, but your voice was too quiet and in the end you were afraid to step in.

 

"Whose you think you are, talkin' to me like that? You think you're my fuckin' mum or something?" the biker snarled.

 

"N-no, I wasn't-" Makoto tried to defend herself, but Mondo wasn't listening anymore. She had gotten herself riled up into a frenzy, clenching her hand into a fist and shouting abuse at the shorter girl.

 

Byakuya merely looked off boredly to the side, as though this entire thing didn't affect her. As though the whole situation wasn't her fault...

 

As though in slow motion, Mondo swung her fist, leaving you powerless to stop it, even as you dashed forward and tried to catch her fist, despite knowing it was futile. There was a sickening crunch as Mondo's fist collided with Makoto's cheek and she was sent flying back, tossed through the air and landing with a dull thud on the floor of the gym.

 

The whole room went silent for a few moments, before panic broke out and several other students including you began to scurry towards the crumpled Makoto.

 

"She's still breathing!" Chihiro hollered in relief.

 

"Shit...! Is she gonna be alright?" the baseball player asked, scratching the back of her head.

 

"Well... It's definitely gonna leave a bruise," you answered, checking Makoto over to look for any other injuries.

 

Mondo stood off to the side, looking slightly shocked at herself, as though she couldn't believe what she had just done and was just coming to terms with the implications. At least she seemed to have cooled off a little...but in the worst way possible.

 

"H-hey... I didn't mean..." she stammered and trailed off.

 

"Violence is an unacceptable use of your time as a disciple of Hope's Peak Academy and achieves nothing!" Ishimaru shrieked at her, pointing accusingly. "You should be ashamed of yourself!"

 

"Oh shut up," Junko snapped irritably. "Don't we have more important things to worry about right now?"

 

"Are you referringing to the third regulation?" Celeste asked, glancing at his handbook.

 

"Sleeping anywhere other than the dormitory will be seen as sleeping in class and punished accordingly..." Chihiro remembered in a quiet voice.

 

"So then before we start exploring we should take her to the dorms?" Sayaka suggested.

 

"Huh? We're still going to explore after what just happened?" Aoi asked.

 

"We won't solve anything by just standing around," Kyoko interjected. "Aren't you curious as to the nature of our surroundings?"

 

"Well... I guess..." the swimmer responded, still looking uncertain.

 

"Do not worry yourself, Asahina," Sakura broken in, crossing his arms. "We will make sure that Miss Naegi is in good hands."

 

"Well if that is all, I shall be leaving now," Byakuya announced. This time, nobody tried to stop her, watching in silence as she left the room.

 

"If you'll excuse me," Kyoko added and uncrossed his arms, leaving the room to explore by himself as well.

 

"Indeed! No time to waste!" Taka agreed, matching towards the door and out into the corridors outside.

 

"What about the rest of us? Wanna split into groups or something?" Leona suggested.

 

"Sounds good," you agreed. "I guess we'll find more if we split up..."

 

"We should check all the windows and junk," Junko suggested, playing with a strand of his blond hair. "To like, look for a way out."

 

"T-that seems too good to be true..." Chihiro sighed, looking at his feet.

 

"Well if anyone needs me, I'll just be here, taking it easy," Hiro grinned, crossing her arms.

 

"Oh no you don't!" Leona stopped her, grabbing her arm. "You're coming with me."

 

"So then... The five of us can like, team up then?" Junko suggested, grinning. For some reason his smile almost reminded you of a wild animal baring its teeth. But as the thought entered your head, you shook it quickly away. You were imagining things. He was a model, not some animal to be afraid of. A person, like you.

 

"I don't mind..." you agreed. The others seemed in favour as well.

 

Aoi and Sakura seemed to have teemed up with Mondo and Celeste and Hifumi seemed to be talking to Toko in hushed voices.

 

Sayaka had gently lifted Makoto and started to head towards the dorms.

 

With a final look over your shoulder, the five of you left the room and began your comb of the school.

 

You found yourself falling into step beside Junko at the back of the group, who glanced around irritably at his surroundings as you walked through the halls, methodically checking the windows of each room, excluding those which were blocked off.

 

You also discovered a staircase leading up the way, though it was also off limits, blocked by a large metal shutter.

 

At first there was an awkward silence between the two of you, which put you on edge, but after a few minutes he groaned loudly, making you jump.

 

"God, there's like, nothing to do in this place! How can anyone live like this for the rest of their life? It's impossible!" he whined.

 

"...hey, Enoshima?" you asked after a moment.

 

"Call me Junko," he grinned, holding up a peace sign at you.

 

"Um, Junko..."

 

"Yeah?"

 

"Since you're a model and all...you must be really popular, right?" You asked anxiously.

 

"Huh...? Oh," he grinned. "I get it. When we get out of here, I should totally introduce you to some of my friends. A cute girl like you would be a total hit! What's your type? A passive girl like you... You need a more aggressive guy!"

 

"A-ah...! N-no, that's not what I mean..." you stammered. "It's just... There's no way someone as amazing as you could be kidnapped without anyone realising, right?"

 

"Huh? Oh yeah, I guess..." he responded, twirling a lock of blond hair as the two of you entered another classroom and began to check over the windows once more. "But...somehow I don't feel like we can count on outside help..."

 

"...huh?"

 

He paused for a moment, a look of hesitation on his face. Then he groaned loudly and stretched.

 

"Ugh... I think I'm gonna get infected with terminal boredom disease if I have to stay here!" he whined, once again unsuccessfully attempting to unscrew on of the plates over the windows.

 

"That bad already?" you asked, although you had to admit that the thought of living the rest of your life here seemed pretty dull.

 

"You have no idea! I hate being bored! Hate it!" he answered impatiently. "Even living homeless on the streets would be better than being stuck here for the rest of my life."

 

Leona and Hiro seemed to be attempting to force off the window plates as you headed out into the hall with Junko. Chihiro trailed behind you, glancing nervously around at his surroundings.

 

"Homeless...really?" you asked, surprised.

 

"Yeah, you know! Like, the hobo life! I've done it before ya know."

 

"You have?" you exclaimed, surprised. Looking at him now, it was hard to believe.

 

"Yeah," he answered, looking suddenly uncomfortable. "It's a long story."

 

'I bet it is,' you thought, glancing back at your feet. Junko began to bound ahead again, leaving you and your muddled thoughts behind. Rather than help you understand him, you just felt more confused after talking to him.

 

"H-hey, (f/n)? Is something the matter?" Chihiro asked, picking up his pace a little to fall into step with you as you continued towards the dormitories.

 

You blinked and gave him a small smile. "I'm fine," you answered. "Don't worry about it."

 

"Oh, okay... I'm sorry," he answered guiltily.

 

"Huh? Why are you apologising?" you asked.

 

"I'm...probably just getting in your way and slowing you down," he answered unhappily, glancing at his feet.

 

"What...?" you responded. "That's not true at all! I feel a lot better knowing you're on our side."

 

"R-really? Do you really mean it?"

 

"Yeah! So let's get out of here together, Fujisaki," you told him.

 

"Y-yeah!" he answered, beaming up at you. He seemed to have cheered up a little at least. "Ehehe... I really appreciate that, (l/n)."

 

"God, they expect us to live  here !?" Junko's voice interrupted. "It's so  boring !"

 

Up ahead you could see him standing amidst the dorm rooms, his arms crossed irritably.

 

Sakura was also standing down the hall with Aoi, closing one of the doors behind him.

 

"It seems we have each been assigned our own room," he commented. "That is...comforting."

 

"It seems each door is equipped with a separate lock and key also!" Ishimaru added in, coming around the corner looking proud of herself.

 

"We also get our own showers!" Aoi added excitedly. "Isn't that great? Oh but it seems like only the boys bathrooms lock..."

 

"Only the boys?" Chihiro asked nervously.

 

"That's messed up," Junko added. He nudged Chihiro. "But us guys shouldn't have anything to worry about, right?"

 

"Eheheh..." Chihiro laughed awkwardly, scratching his cheek with a finger.

 

Glancing around it seemed like each door had a small pixilated portrait of its owner on the door. You took a few steps down the hall and it didn't take long to find your own room sandwiched between Sayaka and Makoto's.

 

You grabbed the keys hanging from the door handle and unlocked the door, before pushing it open to take a look inside.

 

"These are pretty spacious..." you observed in surprise.

 

"I suppose it is not surprising, given the nature of our school," Sakura responded.

 

"Yeah, with it being government funded and all..." you added quietly. This only lead to more questions however. If the school was government funded, what could possibly have transpired to cause you to find yourself in this position? Surely the school wasn't using the resources for something like this?

 

The group of you was silent for a while as you contemplated.

 

Then Aoi sighed and threw his arms up in a shrug. "Whatever," he spoke. "All this is making my head hurt. What about you guys? What're you gonna do next?"

 

"Well, we still gotta like, check the rest of the windows," Junko answered thoughtfully. "But first I wanna try something."

 

"What do you have in mind?" you asked, his words capturing your attention.

 

"...I'm dunno yet. But I'd like someone to check the acoustics in the rooms," he continued.

 

"Well in that case, I'll stick around here too then," you decided. "What about you Fujisaki?"

 

"Well... I'm kinda hungry," he answered, putting a thoughtful finger to his mouth. "I'll go and check out the dining hall."

 

"Then we'll go see if we can't just do something about that grate by the stairs," Aoi added, Sakura nodding in agreement.

 

"Well that's settled then," Junko concluded before turning to you as the others moved off towards their separate destinations. "Listen, I'll go into my room, you go and 'borrow' Byakuya's. Then make some noise, like bang on the wall or something."

 

"Huh? Why Byakuya's room?" you protested. "How do I even get in?"

 

Junko sent you a wicked grin. "The keys are right there in the door. I guess she hasn't come around yet."

 

"But what if she comes back? Can't we use someone else's room?" you tried again.

 

"Nah I need it to be close by," Junko countered.

 

"Then what about Celeste's room?"

 

"He's already taken his keys. Anyway, you shouldn't go into a guys room uninvited," the model smirked. "You never know what there could be lying around."

 

You sighed a breath of defeat. "Okay... So, I just go in and make some noise, right?"

 

"Right."

 

You nodded and nervously turned towards Byakuya's room, swallowing thickly to calm your nerves before grabbing the keys with a swift motion and unlocking the door.

 

The door swung open quietly and without resistance. Taking a nervous look around, you quickly slipped into the room and closed the door behind you.

 

The room wasn't really much different from your own, only slightly fancier and perhaps more polished. Of course there was no dust in any of the rooms, which meant they would have had to have been recently used, which was odd. You hadn't seen anyone besides your fifteen classmates and Monokuma since you got here. Could it have been the mastermind? It seemed unlikely that this mysterious person would stoop to cleaning out rooms. Unless there was some large scale organisation behind this...

 

"Weird..." you muttered.

 

Then you walked over to the wall which separates you from Junko's room and knocked loudly on the wall, cringing at the noise.

 

"Enoshima?" you called out as loudly as you dared.

 

There was no response. You tried knocking again, but there was no reply to this either.

 

You called out a few more times without receiving any kind of validation, before shrugging and heading back out of the room. Outside it seemed Junko had been waiting for you.

 

"Well?" he asked.

 

"Well what?" you prodded.

 

"Didya hear me?" he continued impatiently.

 

"What?" you asked, surprised. "I didn't hear anything. What about you? I was knocking on the walls and everything."

 

He narrowed his eyes calculatingly. "Well I guess that settles it then," he seemed to decide. "Those rooms are like, totally soundproof. You could could yell as loud as possible and nobody would hear ya."

 

You shivered at these words. You had a feeling you know what he was implying. It would be impossible to call for help... If something happened not even screaming at the top of your lungs could help you. It was unpleasant thought...

 

And suddenly you felt very tired. Keeping your eyelids open was becoming more of a struggle as seconds ticked by.

 

"Listen Enoshima," you spoke, getting his attention. "I'm sorry but I think I'm going to rest for a while."

 

"Huh? Oh yeah... That's fine. I have some stuff to take care of anyway," he responded.

 

You wondered briefly what that 'stuff' was, but it wasn't a good idea to pry and so you merely nodded and the two of you said your goodbyes.

 

You gathered up your remaining energy and trotted over to your room, entering and locking the door behind you.

 

You collapsed exhaustedly onto the bed where you closed your eyes and buried your head into the pillow.

 

The room seemed to contain very few personal effects of yours and lacked comfort. There were no windows to let in any day light and so without the help of the clock, it could be any time of day.

 

With that thought in mind, you began to switch down and fell into an exhausted sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I have been so busy recently! There's a lot of things going on, so I haven't had much time to write, but since everyone is asking, yes I am planning to continue my OnS fics at some point, as I don't like leaving them unfinished, but since I'm really busy at the moment, updates might just take a while as I ran out of pre-written chapters.
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> -ButterFly


	3. Academy of Despair

You were asleep for some time, just barely aware of time passing, before you heard a knock at your door and you drowsily sat up in the unfamiliar bed. Your heart sank miserably as you took in your surroundings. Part of you had still been hoping that you might wake up to find that the whole experience had been a dream.

The knock on the door came again, more persistently a moment later and you tiredly lifted yourself from the bed to find out what was going on.

You unlocked the door hesitantly and opened it, only to find Ishimaru outside, her hand raised as though to knock a third time. As you swing open the door, she lowered her hand and bowed politely.

"Pardon the intrusion, Miss (l/n)! I was simply dropping in to let you know that everyone is planning to meet in half an hour to discuss our findings," she explained.

"Huh? Oh, okay... Thanks, Taka," you responded and she nodded graciously. "By the way... What time is it?"

"About 6:30," she answered quickly.

"In the evening!?" you exclaimed in shock, your eyes widening dramatically. "Damn, I was asleep longer than I thought..."

Ishimaru narrowed her eyes a little. "If I may express my opinion, slacking off at a time like this is indeed unacceptable, but it is understandable if you do not feel well under these conditions."

"Sorry, Taka..."

"Very well then," she finished. "I will see you in half an hour. I must talk to the others."

"Okay, see you there..." you agreed, watching as she marched purposefully away along the hall.

You closed the door again behind her and ran a hand through your hair. You still felt sleepy, but Ishimaru was right. This was no time to sleep, especially when the others were all hard at work.

Having nothing else you especially needed to do instead, you headed towards the dining area, where it seemed that Makoto and Sayaka had already met Ishimaru

"So you two got here first, huh?" Taka grinned. "Too bad... I was sure I'd beat everyone here. I guess that means I don't have enough fighting spirit yet!" She raised a finger into the air, jabbing it at Sayaka and Makoto. "Well I won't give up! Next time, I swear I'll win no matter what it takes! Justice shall always prevail!"

"That's a bit much, don't you think?" Sayaka answered sheepishly.

"Naegi!" you called out, capturing the girls attention as you jogged up to the trio.

"Oh, hey (l/n)!" she smiled.

"Are you okay? Oowada hit you pretty hard!" you prodded, walking around her once to check her over before placing your hands seriously on her shoulders. "Are you experiencing any dizziness?"

"Huh? No, I'm fine, honestly! It was nothing really," Makoto answered, looking slightly embarrassed.

You sighed a little. "I sure hope that's the case...don't ignore something like that because you don't want to bother anyone."

"Ah...thanks (f/n). And don't worry, I won't!" She smiled reassuringly at you and you relaxed a little.

It wasn't long before the others began to flood in, taking their seats around the main table. Oowada kicked her legs up onto the table and rocked back on her chair, much to Taka's chagrin.

When Byakuya entered, she pointedly sat down at another table and was soon joined by Toko. While the heir looked annoyed at this, she surprisingly said nothing.

When everyone had entered and settled, Ishimaru stood up. "Okay!" she exclaimed. "It looks like everyone's here. Time to start the meeting! Let's all go around and share what we found out during our respective investigations. The sooner we find out what's going on, the sooner we get out of here."

"W-wait a moment!" you interjected uncomfortably.

"What's wrong!?" Taka asked forcefully.

"What about Kirigiri? You know... The silver haired boy," you added when she looked a little lost.

"What about him?" Taka prodded.

"Well...he's not here," you explained. "We can't start without him, right?"

"What!?" Ishimaru shrieked in shock, glancing around the room for a head count.

A feeling of anxiety had already settled in the pit of your stomach, but you tried your hardest to ignore it. There was no way someone had been killed this early on...

"I wonder where he went," Aoi butted in, a similar serious tone in his voice. "Has anyone seen him?"

His voice sent a ripple through the assembled students as each of them turned to the other and shook their heads.

"Wait, so...nobody's seen him?" Chihiro asked, nervously chewing on his lip.

The others began to mutter and whisper suspiciously to each other and Monukuma's voice rang in your head.

'You must kill someone if you want to leave.'

...

There was no way, right? You were probably just overthinking things.

Ishimaru on the other hand seemed completely oblivious to the undertone of the situation. "Darn it Kirigiri!" she exclaimed. "You're really going to be late like this on the first day of school!? Not only is he late, he didn't tell anyone he would be late! A most unbecoming personality trait..."

"You're being a real jack-ass right now, you know that?" Junko sighed.

"Well what do you want me to do!? Punctuality is everything!" Taka responded loudly. "Now then, I declare that the first session of the Hope's Peak Academy briefing meetings has begun! I will begin."

Makoto seemed a little confused at first, having missed the majority of what had happened, but Sayaka quietly turned to her and began to explain quietly as Taka began to speak.

"So I spent some time looking around the dormitory, and... There I made the discovery of the century! I found that there was exactly one room for each person!" Taka proclaimed proudly.

"Well yeah, I figured that out before anything else..." Aoi sighed.

"Each door has a nameplate on it, so it seems the rooms have already been assigned," you agreed.

"And each room key was attached to a keychain with the owners name precision etched into it," Sakura added.

"And (f/n) and I found out that all of the rooms are totally soundproof," Junko explained, causing some anxious whispers to break out.

"So your next-door neighbour could scream their lungs out, and you wouldn't hear a thing..." Chihiro mumbled, playing with his fingers.

"Well, each room also had a private bathroom, which could also lock," Celeste explained.

"But it looked like there were only locks on the bathrooms in the boys' dorms," Junko finished.

"Okay, so they got a bunch of rooms ready for us," Mondo growled. "They're assuming we're gonna be here for a while..."

"Well, better to have than to have not!" the hall monitor broke in. "At least we don't have to worry about surviving like wild animals. Anyway, that's all for my report! Let's move on to whoever's next!"

"Hmph. I wanted to try and find some clues as to who's responsible for imprisoning us here," Byakuya spoke up. "But unfortunately I made no such discoveries. That's all from me."

"Really? That's it?" the hall monitor asked.

"If is uncovered anything, naturally I would have more to say. But I didn't. So I don't."

Ishimaru was quiet for a moment. "R-right, fair enough. Enoshima, you teamed up with several of the others, did you not?"

"Yeah, we went up and down the school, double checking the windows in the hallways and classes," he answered. "We wanted to see if we could get any of those metal plates to come off. And what happened was..."

"Nothing!" Leona grumbled. "Not a damn thing. We couldn't even get a single one to budge even a little bit."

"There wasn't any hope of escape anywhere..." Chihiro agreed, looking almost ready to burst into tears. "The school has been totally cut off..."

"Ugh... This sucks," Junko complained. "It really  sucks ! It sucks sucks sucks sucks SUCKS! What the hell are we gonna do!?"

"Enoshima, please stay calm..." you pleaded. "We need to cool our heads."

"We thought we could find some way to communicate with the outside, so we went looking all over!" Aoi began.

"Hold on a minute," Ishimaru interrupted. "Who's 'we'?"

"Oh... Sakura and Mondo and myself," Aoi answered, rubbing the back of his neck. "But...we didn't find a thing. Sorry..."

The swimmer seemed downcast.

"I went back to the main hall, thinking maybe we could do something about that giant hunk of metal," Mondo picked up. "But even with Sakura and me both, it wouldn't budge. We hit it with desks and chairs, and nothin'... It was as hard as steel!"

"Well yes... That's because it  _ is _ steel," Celeste sighed, with the undertone of there being no cure for stupidity.

"Anyway, if we're gonna get outta here, it's not gonna be through there," Mondo added, undeterred.

Sakura picked up after that, explaining how both the dorm areas and the school had stairs leading up to another floor. Of course, you had also noticed them but you hadn't given it as much thought as you probably should have.

Aoi spoke next, explaining that there were impenetrable gates in front of the stairs, blocking them off.

"In other words," Sakura concluded. "At this point we are only able to search the first floor, but we can further assume that there is potentially something above the second floor as well."

You shuddered at the thought of a whole other unexplored level above your heads. What could possibly be up there? The thought of the large, empty halls above your heads... It was somehow chilling.

Some of the others discussed the possibility of the upper floors leading to a way out, but it honestly seemed too good to be true. The mastermind would certainly never make it that easy for you.

"What about Celeste, Yamada and Fukawa?" Aoi asked. "Did you guys find anything?"

"Well, if I am honest, I can't quite say we acted as one," Celeste answered, curling a strand of his dark hair around a finger. "Rather, we did  nothing as one. We spent the entire time in the gym. After all, we are not exactly the types to go running around the school like a gaggle of junior detectives."

"What the hell were you thinking, just sitting around the gym the whole time?" Junko mouthed off.

"W-well it's not like any of you i-invited me along! Nobody said, hey, c-come with us! I blame y-you for leaving me out! I-its your fault!" Toko growled.

There was a slight sigh. Why did anyone need to be invited to do something at a time like this? You had to be proactive if you wanted to escape this situation.

"If you wanted to go with someone, you should've just said something!" Junko snapped at him.

"Hmph. F-forget it! Like I'd w-want to go with some d-dirty pervert like you," Toko answered, causing you to freeze up as Junko paused in disbelief.

"Pervert...?" Junko asked, speechless.

"Your mind is as th-thin as your body," Toko stammered. "You m-make me sick to my s-stomach..."

"I...I don't even know how to react," Junko responded angrily after a moment. "How can you say something so awful to someone you've just met?"

"...Alright guys, everybody just calm down, okay? All this stress is bad for your skin, y'know?" Hiro pleaded.

"Yeah!" Sayaka agreed, grinning. "It sounds like you two are so close now you're fighting like brothers!"

"I...don't think that's what's going on Sayaka..." Makoto murmured.

"Anyway, so that's what everyone has to say, huh?" Sayaka carried on obliviously. "Then I guess I'm the only one left."

He took a deep breath before continuing: "I went and had a look around the dining hall... I found a fridge at the back of the kitchen, and it was overflowing with all kinds of stuff."

You perked up a little at this. You hadn't realised how hungry you were until now. What you wouldn't give for some chocolate... Most of the time you had to limit your intake so as not to put on too much weight, but it couldn't hurt under these circumstances...right?

"Then we don't have to worry about food at least," you concluded in relief.

"Sure, for now," Yamada interjected. "But even with all that, there are sixteen of us. How long can the food last?"

"Oh, I don't think we need to worry about it," Sayaka disagreed. "The food gets restocked automatically each day. At least...that's what Monokuma said."

"You saw him!?" Junko burst out.

"Yeah, he came out of nowhere while I was checking the fridge , told me that, then disappeared again," the idol answered seriously, causing an outbreak of more muttering.

"A weaponised toy that can just appear out of nowhere..." Chihiro mumbled, playing nervously with his fingers. "I can't tell if we're supposed to be afraid or not."

"But was everything okay?" Aoi asked. "He didn't try to like, eat you or anything?"

"E-eat him...?" Yamada stammered, drooling a little. "Um, what exactly did you mean by that? I mean, when you say 'eat', what kind of eating are we talking about?"

"Come on man!" Aoi complained at her.

"What the hell! You sound like some drunk old man!" Leona added disgustedly.

"Stop screwing around!" Junko snapped, clenching his fists. "All of you! Are you still asleep or something? We're prisoners here! We could all just die any second!"

"E-Enoshima...you don't mean that do you?" You stammered. "There's no way...no way anyone, could actually...d-die, right? Guys?"

You glanced around the assembled students. Some looked skeptical while others just looked afraid or disbelieving, ready to burst into tears.

"He's right," Mondo sighed. "We can't be makin' stupid jokes right now. We gotta do something, or-!"

She never had time to finish. At that moment a cold voice spoke up, cutting through Mondo and the others babbling as though it was merely a childish annoyance.

"You're all spending an awful lot of time yelling and carrying on," it said. It was a calm male voice, though it had an undertone of exasperation. You turned towards the speaker as he continued: "Do you really think you can afford to do so? Have none of you accepted the reality of the situation?"

"Kirigiri!" you exclaimed, relief washing over you. "Where-"

Ishimaru interrupted you, pointing accusingly at the boy: "Kirigiri! Where the heck have you been!? We already started the meeting without you!"

Kyoko didn't bother replying, instead walking forwards in silence and placing a piece of crumpled paper on the table.

"Huh...? What's this...?" Makoto asked, leaning over.

"It...looks like a floor plan..." you answered uncertainly.

"Indeed," Kyoko agreed. "More specifically, it appears to be a map of Hope's Peak Academy."

"A map...?" Makoto asked in surprise, digging around her pockets. "That's weird, I felt I had one with me just earlier...but I haven't seen it since I woke up."

"Wh...what the...? Where did you find this?" Taka questioned.

"It doesn't matter where I found it," was the only response from Kirigiri.

"It DOES matter! You're totally freaking us out right now!" the prefect snapped back.

Ah... It was happening already. They were turning on and suspecting each other.

"Never mind that," Junko sighed, raising an eyebrow. "What's it mean?"

"Just look at it," Kyoko ordered, thoughtfully putting a hand to his chin. Junko stood up and leaned across to get a better look, and you shuffled a little to get closer to the table. There was a tense silence as everyone's eyes began to scan the map, looking for some kind of clue it way out.

"I...I'm sorry, but I don't get it," you said nervously after a moment. "Isn't this just a map of the Academy?"

"Precisely. The building we're in right now is laid out in exactly the same way as Hope's Peak Academy," Kyoko agreed and you paused.

"You mean...you weren't sure? But now what you're saying is...that this really is Hope's Peak Academy?" you asked him, glancing up.

"Well, in terms of its construction, yes," he confirmed. "But it looks like it's had a number of strange...renovations done to it."

"Renovations...?" Makoto piped up curiously.

"I don't know all the details yet," Kirigiri told her, crossing his arms. "All I found was details of the first floor."

"But then...this really is Hope's Peak. We didn't get kidnapped and taken to some other place..." Chihiro trailed off in confusion.

"That's so stupid, it's not even possible!" Mondo snapped. " This is where the county's future elite are supposed to come and learn?"

"But..." Aoi began, before stopping uncertainly. Some eyes turned to him and he glanced awkwardly at Sakura.

"Go on," the martial artist rumbled.

"Well, I mean...if this really is Hope's Peak, where are all the other students?" the swimmer continued reluctantly.

"Well, I mean...what if it actually isn't Hope's Peak?" you asked. "J-just throwing out there, but... I mean there's no way this is The Hope's Peak Academy, right?"

"Are you insane?" Leona broke in, silencing you. "The budget involvedin some scam like that would be huge! And I like, totally remember coming to the right place. I walked through the gates and everything!"

"S-sorry..."

"Hey, come on, guys," Hagakure piped up. "Let's just stop talking about all this...you know, negative stuff..."

"But aren't you worried?" Makoto reacted in surprise. "Things don't look good..."

"Worried? What's there to be worried about?" The clairvoyant asked with a grin. "I mean, this was all planned out, right? The people in charge of Hope's Peak put this all together, right?"

A few of the other students exchanged disbelieving glances. It seemed she was still in denial and you couldn't help but wonder how much it would take for her to begin taking this situation seriously. Honestly, maybe she already was, but was trying to convince herself that nothing was really wrong.

"Good things happen to those who wait, right? So we just gotta chill and everything will work itself out!" she continued.

It was enough to hear a dark chuckle coming from another of the students and your attention turned to Celeste, who had a hand to his mouth in amusement. Almost like he was  enjoying the situation.

"Wh-why are you laughing?" Toko shouted anxiously. "What's so funny!?"

"I am just happy, that is all," he smiled sweetly. "It seems splitting up to investigate was a good idea, after all."

"Haven't you b-been listening!? Looking around was a t-total waste if t-time!" the writer growled. "We d-didn't find a way out, didn't f-find who's behind this. We still have no idea what's g-going on!"

"Huh?" Celeste answered mockingly. "Is it not crystal clear to you what is going on? It is perfectly obvious that we have been imprisoned in some secret location, with no way out."

Immediately a hush fell over the room once more, as everyone struggled to respond. Celeste stood calmly in front of the writer, though his slight smile had turned sinister and he eyes seemed to have widened.

Nobody really wanted to accept the reality in front of you... If anyone could even bring themselves to believe all of the other stuff that had happened.

"You didn't h-have to go and s-say that! I w-was trying not to th-think about it!" Toko cried out, clutching his head.

While what Celeste was saying was in fact true, there was no need to put it so bluntly... It was bad for morale. And if you were honest; you could understand where Toko was coming from. You didn't want to stop and think about it...you couldn't let yourself.

"N-no way out... We're t-trapped here!" The writer continued to yammer on. "What are w-we supposed to d-do...?"

"It's very simple," Byakuya sneered. "If you want to leave, you just have to kill-"

"Don't even joke about that!" Junko cut him off furiously.

"Everyone just calm down, please!" Sayaka broke in nervously. He had a worried expression on his face. "We need to stop and think about what to do from here."

"He's right," you murmured. "There has to be something we can do."

"All we can do is adapt," Celeste retorted unsympathetically, a sickly smile on his lips. "Adapt to our lives here from now on."

"L-live here?" Chihiro stammered, tears forming in his eyes. "Are you saying we should just accept it?"

"We've only been here for a day," you agreed, biting your lip as everyone's eyes turned to you. "It's too early to say anything for sure."

"Lack of adaptability...is a lack of survivability," Celeste responded, his barbed words aimed at yourself and Chihiro. "Survival is not based on who is the strongest or the smartest. It comes down to who can adapt."

He paused for a moment before saying: "As someone who has come out on top more than once, I have a suggestion."

"Huh?" Mondo butted in rudely, gritting her teeth. "What do you mean?"

"We all understand that we are trapped here," Celeste elaborated. "Which means we'll be spending the night. However...you all remember the rule regarding nighttime, right?"

"Nighttime" is from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. "Some areas are off-limits at night, so please exercise caution.

"So regarding this ' nighttime ', I think we need to add a rule if our own."

"What do you have in mind?" you asked quietly, prompting the Gambler to to continue.

" Going out at nighttime ," he began. "Should be  prohibited all together. The school regulations do not actually tell us not to go out at night. I would like to make it official."

"B-but why...?" Toko questioned, putting a nervous hand to his chest.

"I get it..." you mumbled. "If we spend the night like this, we'll all be anxious and worried."

"We will all be afraid someone might come and kill us," Celeste broke in and you resisted the urge to glare at him.

"What!?" Sayaka cried out.

"If we have to worry about such a thing night after night for who knows how long, it will wear us down in no time," Celeste added, ignoring the interruption.

"So you're suggesting we limit our activity at night as a kind of preventative measure," Sakura summarised, crossing his muscular arms.

Celeste nodded. "However, unlike the other rules, nobody can be forced to comply. We all have to agree to follow it."

"I...see what you mean," Junko answered thoughtfully. "But...I think I can agree to that. It's like he said. Without something like that, we're just gonna self-destruct."

"Without it, we'd all be suspicious of each other, especially at night," you agreed. "I also think I can agree to those terms."

"On behalf of all of the girls here, I agree to comply!" Ishimaru added.

"Hey, you can't just decide to speak for us!" Leona complained.

"Are you saying you won't follow the rule?" Junko snapped and the baseball player lowered her head.

"...So everyone is in agreement? Good." Celeste stood up. "Then, if you will excuse me..."

"Huh!? Wait, where are you going?" Chihiro asked anxiously.

"It is almost nighttime," Celeste answered curtly. "I want to take a shower before it arrives. So...goodbye."

With an innocent smile, he left the room, followed by a short silence. Nobody tried to stop him. Nobody dared.

"S-so... I guess we're spending the night, then," Asahina spoke, scratching his cheek.

"Adaptability..." Sakura sighed.

"So Miss Chairman," Junko addressed Ishimaru. "What next? One person already left."

"U-umm..." she stammered. "What say we call an end to today's meeting? Like he said, it's almost nighttime anyway. We can reconvene first thing tomorrow morning!"

"That sounds...early..." you muttered and Sayaka grinned a little.

"Do we really have to stay the night here...?" Chihiro asked worriedly.

"We don't have a choice," Junko shrugged. "We can't go for long without getting some sleep."

"So we have to just give up..." Mondo muttered, lowering her head in defeat.

"...I think we should talk about this tomorrow," you responded. Mondo's glumness seemed to be infectious.

"That's all f-fine and good for t-today, but what do we d-do tomorrow?" the writer spoke up again.

"Our only option is to split up and look around again, and let everyone know if we find anything," Sakura returned with a sigh.

"Yeah, okay. Let's do that...!" Aoi agreed.

"Then we're done for today?" Junko asked hopefully. "Good, I'm exhausted..."

The feeling seemed to be unanimous. Everyone began to trudge heavily towards the doors with muttered goodbyes. Some headed towards the kitchen to find something for dinner and the meeting disintegrated.

You noted Makoto and Sayaka heading off together as you too trudged back towards your room, though not before stopping off at the kitchen to grab a plain roll. You weren't as tired as you would have been after your nap, but you didn't want to linger. Especially not all by yourself...

You entered your room quietly and glanced around nervously, making sure to lock your door behind you. You slipped off your shoes by the door and padded quietly into the room, sitting down at the desk and nibbling on your roll.

Would you really be staying here for the foreseeable future? The room suddenly felt very large, making you feel very small. While a few personal effects lay around the room and some other decorations already seemed to tailor to the room to your liking, it didn't feel anything like home. It felt  familiar , sure, but not homely.

And that reminded you... You trotted over to the bathroom and placed your hands on the doorknob, trying to open it. It wouldn't budge.

"Huh...?" you muttered. Was it locked? But you could have sworn that Monokuma had told you there was only locks on the boys bathrooms... You jiggled on the doorknob a few more times to no avail.

"It...really must be locked," you commented to nobody in particular.

And therefore you had of course not been expecting a response. But nonetheless...

"Bzzt! Wrong! Not locked!" a high pitched voice piped up. You jumped violently and let out a small scream as you whipped around to face the speaker, fully ready to defend yourself. You ended up being face to face with...nobody.

"Heeey! Down here!" the voice added and you glanced down at you feet before leaping back with another shriek.

"M-m-Monokuma!"

"Hmph! That's Headmaster Monokuma to you! Jeez, talk about an overreaction. It's like you just saw a ghost or something!" he sneered.

"Well, you're so short that I didn't see you at first," you answered. "I thought you were a ghost..."

"Don't be silly! Ghosts don't exist!" Monokuma responded in irritation. "How rude! Calling me a ghost... You cut me deeper than the Grand Canyon!"

"I'm sorry, Headmaster Monokuma..." you answered automatically, before feeling idiotic for apologising to a sociopathic robot-bear.

"That's more like it!" Monokuma crossed his arms.

"A-anyway...why are you here?" you asked. "Is it about the lock?"

"Like I said, there is no lock!" the bear snapped. "Were you even listening!? Listen you, the bathroom in your room has a problem with the doorframe!"

"Huh...? So, wait, what you're saying the reason it won't open is because the door just doesn't fit?" you attempted to clarify.

"What did I just say!? Didn't you see the notice? What, can't you read? The girls bathrooms have had their locks removed!"

"R-removed...? You're saying they used to have locks as well?"

"Oops! I've said too much! Anyway, there's a little trick to opening this particular ill-fitting door," Monokuma explained, pacing around the room. Then he paused and looked up at you. "And that's what I'm here to teach you! Okay ready?"

You placed your hand on the doorknob and nodded.

"So you just gotta turn the doorknob, then lift up while you pull!"

You carefully followed the bears instructions as he spoke and sure enough, after a moment the door swung open, revealing a small ensuite bathroom with sink, toilet and shower.

"These rooms are pretty luxurious..." you commented, glancing around.

"Puhuhu... See?" Monokuma prodded. "It opened right up! But you know, you're pretty unlucky. Your door's the only one that doesn't fit quite right!"

"..."

"Anyway," he finished. "I suddenly don't feel like being here anymore. Bye!"

And you were left staring at the place he had been. He simply...disappeared.

You sagged your shoulders with a sigh. How tiresome that bear was...

You showered after that and changed into pyjamas, flopping down on the bed and staring at the ceiling for a while. Names and faces swirled around your head and you struggled to match them to one another. Some stood out to you more than others. Sayaka of course, you had known before... Makoto was the first person you had met. Ishimaru was the organised one. Mondo was the violent girl. Junko, Chihiro...and Kyoko. He felt so familiar. And Celeste with his brutal honesty and deceptive nature... Aoi, the cheerful one. Sakura, the large boy...

Monokuma's nighttime announcement came and went as you lay there, contemplating.

You sat up groggily after a few minutes and turned off the lights, laying back down in your bed. For some reason however, you still struggled to sleep. For whatever reason, perhaps nerves or your extended nap from earlier, you simply couldn't fall asleep.

After trying various breathing techniques, counting sheep and about ten different sleeping positions, you sat back up again and sighed.

You were hungry again. And you would give anything for a warm milk.

And so you got up again, throwing the covers off and getting dressed again. The dining hall wasn't open during nighttime, but if you remembered correctly there was a storage room just around the corner. Surely there would be something to eat there?

Quietly you slipped on your shoes and tiptoed to the door. It opened quietly without any noise. You had almost been expecting it to creak, but it made no noise at all as it swung open.

With a sigh of relief you stepped out into the corridor. At first you tried to be quiet, before reminding yourself that the rooms were all soundproof anyway. Nevertheless you kept an eye out for anyone else who was around.

You couldn't believe you had already broken the nighttime rule on the first night. But all you were really doing was getting a snack, right? You would just run to the storage room, get something to eat and run back...

And so you found yourself sneaking a glance around the corner to check that the coast was clear, before dashing towards the storage room, ripping the door open and closing it after you.

You paused inside the room for a moment, sighing with relief, back towards the shelves.

Which was the reason you never saw someone coming up behind you.

"What are you doing out this late?"

Freezing for a split second before you whipped around, you squinted through the dark in a panicked manner, picking out a figure between the shelves which you hadn't seen before. They were walking purposefully towards you and it was only as he came closer that you were able to make out his features. Pale hair, gloved hands, violet eyes...

"Kirigiri...!" you gasped. "W-what-"

"Keep your voice down," he hushed you sharply.

"S-sorry..." you whispered, guilty at being caught out after nighttime. "I didn't realise anyone else would be up."

"...so why are you?" he questioned.

"W-well I..." you began but were interrupted by the loud rumbling of your stomach. With a squeak of embarrassment, you clutched your stomach.

"I see," Kyoko sighed before turning around and walking away again back along the small cramped warehouse. He seemed fairly used to the dim lights however, moving easily around without bumping into or stepping on anything.

Watching him walk off again you suddenly realised that you didn't want to be left alone in the dark.

"H-hey, Kirigiri, w-wait a minute!" you protested, stumbling after him in the dark.

"...Did you need something from me?" he asked.

"Um... No, I guess not..."

"Goodbye then."

"N-no, wait!" You protested.

Kyoko stopped and sent you a vaguely exasperated glance over his shoulder.

"..."

"U-um..." you fumbled for words. "I just... It's d-dark, so... Can we...talk?"

Immediately you scolded yourself internally for your babbling. That sentence didn't even hang together! Who even jumps from 'it's dark' to asking if you can talk? What were you even planning to talk to him about?

_ 'Stupid, stupid, stupid...' _

Kyoko's bemused stare did nothing to make you feel better. His eyes were as cold as ever. He seemed to be contemplating something as he stared at you, taking you in.

"...Well, I guess a change of pace is necessary sometimes," he sighed. "What do you need to talk about?"

'Crap... I didn't think I would get this far!'

"I...um..."

"...Are you scared, (l/n)?" Kyoko asked you unexpectedly, turning to face you properly.

"H-huh...?"

"Being trapped in a place like this..." he continued.

"Well..." you trailed off, before continuing again, more quietly. "Who wouldn't be...? Of course I'm scared, being trapped in this awful school... I'm so scared I can hardly think straight. But it's at time like this that I have to try and stay rational..."

"Ah," he answered. "That's good."

"That's...good?"

"Fear is proof that your imagination is functioning," he explained. "Frankly, I feel bad for anyone who can't feel fear. Without imagination, you can never deduce which action to take next."

"But...what about you?" you asked. "You act so calm... It's almost like you're not afraid at all."

Kyoko paused. Then he admitted: "I'm scared too, of course. I simply prefer to hide my emotions. There's no advantage to be gained to letting others see how you feel."

"You  hide , huh? That must be pretty lonely... But then again, it's not like I don't know where you're coming from," you answered.

"What I mean is, I'm not as foolishly open as you pretend to be," he then added, causing you to pause.

"P-pretend...?"

"Forget it," he added, shaking his head slightly. "It's nothing. Also the 'fear' I experience is a little different from yours, I imagine."

"Huh...? What do you mean?" You asked.

"You're afraid of what you might lose, right?" Kyoko prompted. "But I'm afraid of what  I've already lost ."

"I...I'm sorry," you replied after a moment. "I don't think I understand."

At this, the slightest hint of a peaceful smile crept onto the boys face. It was surprising and not unwelcome at all. He had a nice smile, you noted. Beautiful and mysterious. "I know."

After that, he didn't say anything else, walking forwards and straight past you towards the door.

"Goodbye," he said before opening the door and walking out, obviously not wanting to answer any more questions.

Well, you were still only just getting to know each other... Maybe you would talk more next time?

With this thought in mind, you grabbed what you came for, and hurried back to your room.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry I haven't been updating my works recently! I'm completely swamped with college work and I just haven't had any time off. That being said I wasn't feeling so great the other day so I took some time off to write and unwind! I also have been completely obsessed with Danganronpa recently and so I wanted to create a fic following the storyline. There are already quite a lot of those though, so I decided to give it a twist and make it a genderbender fic. I'm not even sure if this is all that good, but I wrote it mainly just out of enjoyment and decided to start uploading what I had written.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed! Until the next chapter,
> 
> ButterFly


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